Haunted
by vampchick
Summary: When three of Buffy's friends from LA show up in Sunnydale and ask her help to get rid of an angry ghost, Buffy follows them to LA and meets the Charmed Ones, who make her fondest wish come true.
1. Default Chapter

HAUNTED  
  
Haunted by Allie Ilse  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Buffy, Angel or Charmed but I do own Amber, Kristi, Allie, and the ghosts.  
  
Author's notes: This is a story I came up with as a challenge my friends gave me. The characters I own are based on them. Doyle never died. Jenny is alive again. Lindsey never left. Darla never got pregnant by Angel. Riley left Buffy a long time ago. You know, way before they, in the words of Cordelia Chase, "got groiny with each other."  
  
Spoilers: Some of season 1, 2, 3 ,4 , and 5 of "BTVS", some of season 1, 2, and 3 of "Angel", and some from the first 4 season's of Charmed. Cole is still part demon. Paige is here, but so is Prue. To understand, read what happened.  
  
Synopsis: Buffy's old friend from L.A, Allie, based on me, who is now in college, and who knows of Buffy's secret identity as the Slayer, asks her help in defeating a murderous man who is stalking her and her roommates, Amber and Kristi, even though he's been dead for more than 160 years. The three go to Sunnydale in search of Buffy. She comes with them to L.A, and they learn of the story. Meanwhile, Doyle, who never died(in my world that is since I love Doyle!!) has a vision of Allie, Amber and Kristi in danger, at the same time Phoebe Halliwell has a premonition of the same thing. Thus creating the BTVS/Angel/Charmed crossover story, Haunted.  
  
Feedback: Yes. It's my first fanfic. Whether positive or negative I wanna hear your opinions.  
  
Prologue  
  
SMASH! The sound of glass shattering echoed through the beach house in Los Angeles. Amber Stotler, one of the three girls that lived there, ran into the living room to see that all the pictures that had once been hanging on the walls were now on the floor, the glass frames shattered. "Allie! Kristi! It's happening again!" she yelled. The sound of quick footfalls soon followed. "What did you say, Am?" Kristi asked. Amber whirled around. "It's happening again! Glass shattering. Pictures falling off the wall. It keeps happening!" Kristi Webb looked around. Amber was right. Every picture that had been on the walls were now lying on the floor. Allie Sullivan(see! Changed the last name!) walked toward the mess. "Why does this keep happening?" she asked to no one in particular. "Oh well. Everybody grab a broom and dust pan. Let's get this mess cleaned up." Her two friends nodded.  
  
When Amber, Kristi, and Allie had graduated from Hemery High and all got accepted to UCLA, they had been thrilled. Their second year into college, the three decided to buy the beach house and move in together. They never thought something like this would happen. And it wasn't just pictures falling off the walls. Windows broke, furniture turned over, lights flickered on and off and it all happened with no reasonable explanation. It started out normal though. Things were quiet and the only sound when they first walked in was the echo of their footfalls and voices. That all changed after they settled in. It started small. Things would disappear without an explanation and show up in an entirely place than before. The three friends had at first started accusing each other of taking the items and often fought about it, but it always blew over. Then the really weird stuff started happening. All three of them claimed to hear voices, angry ones and scared ones. They often heard strange noises like someone was walking or dragging something through rooms and hallways, but whenever they went to check, there was never anything there. Then one day when they all came home from classes, they came to see that their house had been trashed. All the furniture had been turned over, knickknacks and pictures had were shattered all over the floor, cups, plates and bowls were thrown through the kitchen and all the cupboards and drawers through out the house were open, their contents strewn everywhere.  
  
"We've been robbed!" Kristi had yelled. After going through the entire house, they discovered that nothing was missing. They still ruled out robbery or possibly vandalism. But the more things that happened, the more confused and scared they got. Then the strangest thing that the three of them ever saw happened. It was late and Amber was still awake. She came out of the living room and went towards her room when she stopped dead in her tracks. There was a man dressed like a gangster standing in the hall. It wasn't the fact that she had never seen this man before that scared her. No. The thing that scared her was the fact that this man was transparent. She had stood in fear, unable to talk, until the names of her roommates escaped her mouth. Allie and Kristi had opened their bedroom doors and gasped at what they had seen. The man had stood there, staring at all three of them. Then his face turned into an expression of pure rage. "WHAT ARE YOU THREE DOING HERE?!" he had yelled. "THIS IS MY HOME! YOU STAY HERE AND YOU WILL DIE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!" And with that he disappeared.  
  
Amber, Allie and Kristi had run to each other and ran into the living room. They didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Or week for that matter, Allie thought. Kris and Am keep trying to deny what they saw. They don't believe in that stuff. But what else could it be besides for a ghost? She didn't wanna bring the subjects of ghosts up. The three of them had got into a fight last time she did. But what other explanation was there? How do you explain what they saw? Trick of light? Mirrors? As much as she regretted it, Allie turned to her friends.  
  
"Uh, guys," she said. They turned toward her and suddenly she felt like kicking herself. Man, I never should have said anything. "Uh, look. I know you guys don't really believe in this sort of stuff, but don't you think that that guy we saw the other night could have been a ghost?" Amber and Kristi rolled their eyes. "Oh come on guys. How else do you explain what we saw?" Kristi scooped up some glass and dumped it in a trash bag. "Allie. I love you, you are one of my best friends, but come on. Ghosts? It was just a guy." Allie smirked. "Yeah, a guy. A guy who was TRANSPARENT! Doesn't that even phase you a little?" Kristi rolled her dark brown eyes again. "It phases me," Amber said softly. They turned to look at her. "It phases me a lot. It scares me. I mean, yeah, okay, ghosts. Hard to believe that they're real. But this is L.A. A lot of weird stuff happens here. There are freaky things out there that we've heard about that goes on here. The deaths and attacks. And all three of us know that they are anything but normal. No one can explain them. So, yeah, unbelievable, but….what else could it be?" The three of them sat in silence. Kristi stood up. "Okay. So it's a ghost. A bad one, obviously. He wants us to either leave or kill us. So I guess either way, he wins," she said. Amber plopped down on the couch. "Too bad we just can't exorcise him or whatever that priest did on 'The Exorcist'".  
  
Allie brightened. Kristi and Amber looked at her. "Uh, guys. I think I just might know the right person for the job." Kristi and Amber exchanged glances. "Who?" they asked in unison. Allie got up. "Pack your bags roomies. We're going to a little town called Sunnydale."  
  
To be continued?  
  
(So, what did you guys think? I know, not a lot of fluff there, but I swear, it is coming. So, review it and tell me what you think!!!) 


	2. Chapter One: The Beginning

PART ONE  
  
"Sunnydale? Where's that? And why are we going there?" Amber asked. "It's about two hours from here. It's a really little town. And we are going there to find the person I think can help us." Kristi looked at her. "And once again the question of who is this person pops up again." she said. They looked at her expectantly. "Do you guys remember Buffy Summers?" Allie asked. They stared at her. Kristi's eyes grew wide. "Buffy? When did you find out where she lived?" she asked. "She told me before she moved. She said her mom bought an art gallery or something there. I get letters from her every now and then. She goes to the college there. UCSunnydale." Amber smiled. "Buffy. Man I haven't heard from her in ages! How come she never gets a hold of me and Kristi?" Allie shrugged. "I guess she thought you guys didn't wanna know her anymore."  
  
"Just because she burnt down the school gym? Please. We grew up with her. Okay, yeah, after she went all fireman on the gym we were a little freaked out by her but we're still her friends," Kristi said, a little bit of hurt showing in her eyes. "Anyway, what makes you think she'll help us? I mean, we haven't been super close these past few years." Allie looked at her roommates. "Let's just call it a…..friend's intuition." She wouldn't tell them about Buffy being a vampire Slayer. They would never look at her the same way again. They would be shocked just like she had been when she found out. Buffy and Allie had run into each other in L.A. about 3 or 4 years ago. Allie had been thrilled to see her again but good old Buff wasn't as thrilled. Now that Allie thought about it, she had looked depressed and hurt. They had talked for about five minutes, Buffy saying she came to L.A. to work out a few problems. Then they parted. Allie didn't quite understand. Buffy was never mopy. Not even a minute later, someone had grabbed Allie and threw up against a wall. Allie had tried to escape the man's grasp but it was no use. He was really strong. Then she looked at his face and screamed. The man couldn't even be called a man. More like an it. It's forehead was big, it's eyes glowing yellow and it's lips pulled back to reveal fangs. The creature covered Allies mouth with his hand to stop her from screaming again. He lowered his fangs toward her neck and Allie felt an unbearable pain shoot through her as the creatures teeth pierced her throat. Then the pain suddenly stopped as the man was yanked away from her and Allie slid to the ground, crying and holding a hand over the bleeding wound on her neck. What she saw was amazing. Buffy was fighting this creature that had attacked her. She punched him over and over in the face and spun on the ground, catching the man's legs and forcing him to fall to the ground. Before Allie could blink, Buffy pulled out a large pointy piece of wood and shoved it into the creatures chest. Allie winced then gasped when the man turned to dust.  
  
Buffy had helped her up and asked if she was okay. "I'm fine", she replied. "But what was that, that thing and how did he explode? And just what the hell are you doing here?" Buffy had taken Allie back to her apartment. She bandaged the puncture marks and explained. Allie found out that the man was a vampire and Buffy was the Slayer of vampires. She also found out that the real reason Buffy was in L.A. was because she had run away. Buffy had told her EVERYTHING. From her "calling", to meeting her new Watcher, to meeting Willow and Xander, to falling in love with the vampire with a soul Angel, to him losing his soul because of their lovemaking on her 17th birthday to when she sent him to Hell and came there. Then Buffy had collapsed in Allie's arms, crying. She didn't see Buffy after that except for before she left for Sunnydale. She had gone to The Coffee Spot, where Allie worked part time, and told her she was leaving; that she had found what had kept her there for so long. She made Allie promise not to tell anyone about her secret. Allie promised, hugged Buffy and didn't see her after that.  
  
She kept the secret her childhood best friend asked her to. She had never told a soul and she wasn't gonna start know. Not unless Buffy told her to. And she wouldn't know that until she saw her face to face again. But she wasn't sure what to do at this point. Going to Sunnydale and seeing what her life is like; the life that had drove her away from it years ago. Her thoughts were shattered by Amber's voice. "Well, I'm up for it. Anything to get this….thing out of here." Kristi nodded and got up. "Here here. I wanna get rid of it. PRONTO. Plus, I wanna see Buff again. It's been a long time. So, Sunnydale is, how long from here did you say? Two hours? Well, let's pack. Oh, wait. Where will we stay? Are there any motels there?" Allie bit her lower lip. "I'm sure there are. They may not be great, but there's gotta be one somewhere. And if not we can stay with Buffy. She'll totally take us in. So. What are we waiting for? There is a majorly pissed off ghost here so lets blow this joint." The other two nodded and they went to pack.  
  
****  
  
"ANGEL! WESLEY! HURRY UP! DOYLE'S HAVING A VISION!" Doyle heard the voice of Cordelia Chase yell before the vision took over his conscience. He saw three young girls in a beach house in L.A. He saw them screaming while a transparent man held a knife at them. Doyle gripped the side of his head as he saw more. Four other women were with them, all brunettes, flipping through the pages of a large book. Then he saw a blonde girl fight demons who had entered the house. Then the vision faded away. He opened his eyes to see Angel, the vampire with a soul, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, an ex- Watcher, both holding onto him, trying to steady him. "Oh, man," Doyle said. "When are these things gonna get easier?" "Doyle. You okay?" Angel asked as he helped the half demon into a chair. "Besides for the excruciating pain jolting back and forth through my head? I'm good." Cordelia offered him a glass of water and held out two aspirins. He took them and gave the brunette a smile. "Thanks, 'Delia." She smiled back at him and Doyle sighed to himself.  
  
He had always liked Cordelia since the moment he saw her. Now she was his girl. She knew everything about him, including him being a half demon. Angel broke him out of his reverie. "Doyle? What did you see?" Doyle looked at him. "Three girls. Looked like college students. They live in a beach house here in L.A. They were being attacked.There were four other girls who were looking through a book, which to me, looked like a book of witchcraft. Then there was a blonde fighting demons. And losing I might add." "All women? Boy what are the odds of that?" Cordelia asked as she rubbed Doyle's back. "Did you by any chance get an address?" Wesley asked. Doyle nodded and wrote it down on a piece of paper. "Ah, yes. I know where this is. It's not far from my flat." "How about a name?" Angel asked. "Uh, no names. No faces. Nothing. Just a lot of girls who need savin'." Cordy looked at him. "Not a lot to go on. But it'll have to do. So, are we going or what? Try and see these girls? Oh, wait. What are we saving them from?" They all looked at Doyle. "One bad ass ghost."  
  
*****  
  
The four Halliwell sisters, well, 3 Halliwell and one Mathews/Halliwell sister, sat in the living room. Paige Mathews felt awkward. I don't know why I should though. I mean, I've been part of this family for awhile. Of course, when I had, it was just Piper and Phoebe here. But now Prue is back. And it's a lot more confusing. Paige looked at her older half-sisters. She had found out she was one of the Halliwell sisters months ago. Her mother and father had given her up because of the prophecy. That there was only supposed to be 3 sisters to become the Charmed Ones. And it happened that way. Prue, Piper and Phoebe had become witches. But then Prue had been killed. And Paige had become a Charmed One in her place. She could move objects with her mind. But being part whitelighter, she had to call out for them. It had all been great, but then it happened. There mother's spirit had come to them with tears in her eyes and told them that the Elders, the Powers That Be, had decided to give them something. Then Prue had appeared, alive once more. Patty, their mother, had told them that the Elders thought it was about time they received something. They brought Prue back to life. And now there are four Charmed Ones. But that's not what bothered Paige.  
  
The past few months, all Paige had to worry about was pleasing Piper and Phoebe, and she had accomplished that. But now she had to do the same with Prue. And it wasn't easy. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I get the feeling she doesn't think of me as family. As if knowing what she was thinking, Prue looked up from the pictures she was going through and smiled at her baby sister. But who knows. Maybe she does. "Okay, I give up!" Phoebe yelled. They all looked at her. "Give up on what, Phoebes?" Prue asked. "Finding a wedding dress suitable for me!" Piper smiled. "Honey? Are you having trouble?" she asked. Phoebe glared her older sister. "Duh, Piper! Why else would I be yelling over a wedding dress? I can't find the right one! How in God's name did you ever?" Piper shrugged and went back to reading her book. "Phoebe, your wedding isn't for a long time. You have awhile to find a dress." Paige stated. Phoebe slumped. "Yeah I guess. But, when Cole and I got engaged, I was super excited. Now I think it's the hardest thing in my life. Aw, well. I'll worry later. Paige can you pass me the newspaper?" Paige gave Phoebe the paper. "Read the article about the college student. Ya know, the one article about her getting the best grade point average in all of UCLA history. I still have absolutely no idea how people can be that smart." All her sisters shrugged. As soon as Phoebe touched the paper, she gasped as the premonition hit her. She saw three girls, one of them the college student Paige was talking about in the paper. They were being attacked by a ghost wielding a knife and she saw a blonde girl fighting demons. And losing. Then she saw 2 brunette girls, and 4 men fighting for their lives. The last thing she saw before the vision ended was the address of the beach house. It was located in Los Angeles.  
  
Phoebe opened her eyes to see her sisters gathered around her. "Phoebe? What did you see?" Prue asked. "Young people in L.A. One of 'em was that girl in the paper. They were being attacked by a ghost and demons. Ugly demons. They need our help guys. They were losing. Big time. I got the address too. It's where dad took all of us last weekend. That beach? The house is one of the beach houses." Paige looked at her other sisters. "So, does this mean we're going to L.A?" They all nodded. "Okay then. Let's get packed." 


	3. Chapter Two: Asking for Help

PART TWO  
  
"Okay," Buffy said to the vampire who was standing in front of her. "This is where I have a problem. You see my friend over there?" She pointed to where Willow hovered over an unconcience Xander. "You hurt him. Now, I'm gonna have to do the same to you." She rushed him and threw him to the ground. She punched him in the face before driving Mr. Pointy through his chest. She dusted herself off and walked to where Xander was now sitting up. "Why do I always get knocked out? It's either me or Giles! Why?" Xander yelled. Buffy and Willow shrugged and helped him up. "Who knows Xander," Buffy said. "Why was I the one to become the Slayer? It's one of life's great mysteries." Xander stood on his feet and waited for the spinning to stop. "Yeah, well it can't EVER be Willow or you. It's always me or Giles! Someone wanna tell me why that is?" Willow looked at Buffy and was about to comment when someone did it before she could. "Maybe it's karma. Who knows. But with you bloody idiots no one can tell."  
  
They turned to see the vamp that had been a pain in there sides since he showed up. "Spike. What do you want?" Buffy asked, irritation clearly in her voice. Spike shrugged and lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and looked at the friends. "Well, not hunting, that I can tell you. Thanks to those soldier boys." Spike took another drag of his cigarette before throwing it to the ground. "I was out looking for vampires. I need some kind of violence in my undead life. But for some reason I always run into you bloats." Willow looked at him. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too Spike. And you know, we aren't always so happy to see either. After someone tries to rip your throat out, you don't really wanna see them anymore." Spike smirked. "Right. Which is why you let the big poof hang around. If I'm not mistaken, Angel tried to rip all your throats out and you let him stay around." Buffy looked down at the mention of Angel's name. Sure had been thinking about him a lot lately. Mainly since she started to have dreams in which the two of them were together; where Angel was human. Sure, she'd had these sorts of dreams all the time, but this one was different. Almost as if it actually happened and she had forgotten it….  
  
"Deep thoughts, Goldielocks?" Spike taunted, drawing her back to reality. She looked up at him and frowned. "That's none of your business, Spike. And the only reason we let Angel stay is because he regained his soul and we knew that he would never hurt us." Willow nodded in agreement while Xander rubbed the back of his head. "Right, at least until the next time you give him a happy. What was it? Oh yeah. 'One moment of true happiness and his soul is taken from him.' You gave him a little over a moment didn't you, Slayer?" He laughed and turned away, walking into the night. Buffy stared after him, hurt by all the memories that came flooding back to her. As if sensing it, Willow looked at her and slightly punched her on the arm. "Hey, Buff. There, uh, sure have been a lot of vampires out this week. Think maybe we should ask Giles and Miss Calendar if something might be up?" she said, trying to make Buffy forget about the memories of Angel that must have come back to her.  
  
Buffy looked at her. "Yeah. Sure. Probably a good idea. I'll tell them tomorrow. I just wanna go home and see how Dawn and Mom are. Then, I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow." The petite Slayer turned around and began walking out of the cemetery, leaving her red-headed friend to stare after her. As Buffy exited through the cemetery's gates, Xander's voice drifted after her. "Does anyone even care that I have some severe brain damage here?!?!?"  
  
*******  
  
Back in LA, Angel and the rest of his team stood outside the beach house Doyle had seen in his vision. Cordelia turned to look at her boyfriend. "Are you sure this is right, Doyle?" she said, obviously irritated. "I mean, it looks like no one's home." Doyle smiled at the brunette he loved so much. "I'm sure, 'Delia. This is the place." Gunn turned away from the window he had been looking in. "Well, someone does live her. House is decorated like the Pope was coming to visit or something." He stated. Angel came from around the house, followed by Wesley and Fred. "There's no way to get in through the back unless we break down the door." Angel said. "Well, maybe we could come back," Fred suggested, pushing a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. "You know, maybe try and see who lives here and then we can-" "Can I help you?", the female voice that had interrupted Fred asked. They turned to see a tall girl with short blonde hair standing behind them, a shopping bag in her arms. Angel stepped forward to introduce himself. "Hi. I'm Angel. Do you live here?" he asked. The girl nodded. "Yeah. My name's Amber. Amber Stotler. Can I help you people with anything?" she asked, her eyes traveling to each of the strange people standing in front her home. Angel shook his head. "No. You can't help us. We were hoping to help you."  
  
Amber smiled awkwardly. "Help me with what?" she asked. Cordelia stepped forward. "Ghosts. Specifically the one haunting your house. Oh, by the way, I'm Cordelia Chase." Amber looked shocked. Then she gathered herself and smiled at the brunette girl. "Ghosts? You do know that they are make-believe right?" Wesley stepped up toward Amber. "Miss Stotler, I realize that a ghost in your home is quite unbelievable, and many people may in fact call you insane for believing such a thing, but we are not that kind of people. We deal with this sort of bizarre accurences everyday. We are private investigators who deal with the paranormal cases. We only want to help you." Amber looked at the British man. "Does that mean you can make him disappear?" she asked, her voice filled with hope. "We hope to. But we sort of need some information first," Angel said. Amber nodded and looked at them, remembering how chilly it was tonight and how they all must be freezing. "Oh, excuse my manners. Would you all like to come inside? Hopefully that ghost won't do anything." She moved to the door, struggling with the bag. Doyle noticed and reached to take the bag from her. "Why don't you let me take that, Miss?" Amber smiled and allowed the Irish man to take the bag. She unlocked the door and stepped in, holding the door open for the rest of them to step in.  
  
She took the bag from Doyle, thanking him for holding it for her. She placed it on the counter and showed her guests to the living room. Once they were all seated, Amber began to tell her story. "My friends and I, after we went into our sophomore year of college, bought this beach house so we could stay together. We're pretty close. Uh, anyway, the haunting stuff happened about a week after we had moved in. You know, we didn't think anything of it. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Ya know, all that happened was pictures falling and stuff being placed in different places. We just thought it was the wind or each other, so we never really got into it. But then, all this freaky stuff happened."  
  
Angel leaned toward her from his place on a chair. "What do you mean 'freaky stuff,'" he asked. Amber shrugged. "You know, freaky stuff. Like the window would break without anything colliding with it. Or the one time we came home from classes and everything was trashed, but nothing was missing. We kept, excuse me, keep hearing things like angry voices and footsteps and something dragging something else down the hallway. But the real freaky thing was when the man we didn't know was standing in our hallway late at night. Oh, he was transparent by the way." Wesley looked at her. "You saw the ghost?" Amber nodded. "Yeah we all did. He said that this house was his and if we didn't leave he would kill us all. Then he disappeared. He was dressed like a mobster or something."  
  
"So, the ghost spoke to you?" Fred asked, very interested in the story. Amber nodded. Angel sat back in the chair and looked at his friends. "Sounds like a poltergeist." He turned to Amber. "It's a troublesome ghost who tends to be a pain in the ass every once and awhile. We can exorcise it, but it is pretty tricky." Amber looked at him. "But you can do it?" He nodded. Amber sighed, relieved. "Thank God. Kristi and Allie will be glad to hear that. They're my friends who live here with me." Gunn looked at her. "Where are they by the way? Shouldn't they be here with you?" Amber looked at him. "They're out of town trying to find somebody who'll get rid of the ghost. Allie seems to think an old friend of ours from high school can help. She and Kristi went to get her." "Why didn't you go too?" he asked. She shrugged. "Didn't want to. It's been a really long time since I've seen her and I told them I'd wait here for them to bring her back. I mean, what's one day compared to like 5 years without seeing Buffy?" They all looked at her at the mention of the Slayer's name. "Do you mean Buffy Summers?" Cordelia asked, her eyes traveling to Angel's shocked expression. Amber nodded. "Yeah. You know her?" Cordelia looked at her again and nodded. "Yeah, I have some association with her. Just like Angel here." Amber smiled. "Good. So, if she comes it will be like a reunion for you guys too." Cordelia smiled, then frowned when she still saw the same expression on her friends face.  
  
Outside of the beach house, the employs of Angel Investigations walked to the cars that were parked not far. "Buffy?" Angel said in disbelief. "Of all the friends they could have had, it had to be Buffy. What do I do now? If she comes, the two of us will be delivering blows the entire time." Fred looked at him. "Isn't that a good thing?" she asked. Cordelia shook her head at the young physicist. "No, Fred. He doesn't mean that they will deliver blows to the bad guys. He means that they'll deliver blows to each other." Fred looked from Angel to her. "Oh, alright. But why would they do that?" Angel grunted. "Fred, Buffy and I have a very complicated…past. VERY complicated. We just.. don't really get along when we're around each other anymore." Fred nodded. She didn't ask anything else about this girl Buffy. Fred knew how much Angel hated to talk about his past. She didn't pry. But she really did want to know what was up with this girl. Cordelia reached out and touched her arm. Fred smiled, knowing that Cordy would tell her later.  
  
Gunn looked behind him at Angel. "Listen, Angel," he said slowly, not trying to upset the vampire. "I've had some relationships with pretty bad pasts too, but I mean, this is a case right? Listen I totally get that you don't wanna see this Muffy-" "BUFFY" Angel corrected him angrily. "Sorry. BUFFY. But like I already said. This is a case. With a paying customer. And a vision. Obviously these Powers want us to help these girls. So, are you gonna?" Gunn asked. Angel shrugged. "Well, I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Angel asked, throwing himself into the driver's side of his convertible. "Atonement. I have to. But just as a heads up, this won't be a very nice reunion." He waited as Fred, Wesley and Doyle got into the car before driving off. "Like it ever is," Cordelia commented as she climbed into the truck with Gunn, who drove past her apartment on his way home. "Never is?" Gunn asked, sliding behind the wheel. Cordelia looked at him. "NO! Those two never get along. Well, now. They used to though. Of course, that might be just because they got groiny with each other." Gunn wrinkled his face in disgust. "Oh, listen Cordelia, was that information COMPLETELY necessary?" he asked, his voice a little too high.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Allie? Are you sure you know where this dorm room is? We've been walking around like two hours and we still haven't found her," Kristi said, her voice filled with irritation. Allie glared at her. "Yes, Kristi, I'm positive. See, Stevenson. That's what the computer said her dorm was called. Now what room was she in?" Kristi pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Uh, 214." "Cool," Allie said, pulling open the door to the large building. "So, let's go look up an old friend." The two walked until they came to the room they were searching for. This is it. Allie thought as she raised her hand to knock. Hope Buff isn't mad about this. Allie smiled when the door opened. A red headed girl she didn't know stood in the doorway. "Hi," the red head said sweetly. "Can I help you?" Kristi nodded. "Yeah. We're looking for Buffy Summers. Is this her dorm room?" The red head nodded and stepped back, allowing the two strangers to come in.  
  
Willow knew they weren't vampires when they walked in, no words of invitation. "I'm Willow. Willow Rosenberg." Willow held out her hand. Allie took it first and shook. "My name's Allie Sullivan. And this is Kristi Webb." Kristi took Willow's hand. Willow jumped when she heard Kristi's name. "Oh, my God!" she shrieked. "I read about you in the paper. You're like, California's smartest college student! I've always wanted to meet you! I can't believe Buffy knows you!" Allie giggled as she watched Kristi blush. Kristi loved the spotlight. "Speaking of Buffy, is she here?" Allie asked. Willow nodded. "Well, not here, in the room. She's in the bathroom. You can sit down." Allie took a seat on the bed closest to her. Kristi sat down on the opposite bed, next to Willow. "So, are you two friends of Buffy's?" Willow asked. "Well, I mean, yeah, you probably are, but I mean what are you doing here?" Kristi smiled. I like this girl, she thought. "Just wanna say 'hi' mostly. I haven't seen Buff in years. We heard she lived here. We looked up her home address and the dorm room. We stopped by her house, but Joyce said she went back to her dorm." Willow nodded. "Yeah, she got back not long ago. So, are you guys friends from L.A?" Allie nodded. "We went to Hemery with her. That was like years ago. Forever. We just wanted to catch up. It's not too late is it? Cause we can come back tomorrow." The red head shook her head. "Naw, it's never too late around here."  
  
Just then the door opened. "Hey, Will?" Buffy said, not seeing the other two girls in the room yet. "Have you seen my good tank top? I can't find it any-" She stopped when she saw Kristi and Allie. "Hey, Buff," Allie said, standing up. "Long time no see." Kristi joined her when she saw Buffy smile. "Oh, my God! You guys!" Buffy yelled as she went forward and embraced both girls. "Oh, God! It's been so long! Man I have missed you two so much!" The three friends pulled apart and smiled. "Kristi, God, how long as it been?" Kristi shrugged and tossed her brown hair behind her shoulder. "Years. That's all I can say. I could count how many, but my brain's not processing everything right now." Buffy smiled. She looked at Allie. "Allie. You haven't changed since that summer in L.A. The only thing different I can see is your hair. When did you let it grow out? You always said you never would." Allie shrugged, bringing a hand to her head and smoothing her hair out. "Oh, I just, thought it was time for a change. We aren't the same people we were in high school. Or when you left for that matter." Buffy smiled again. "Oh, sorry. This is Willow. She's my roommate." Willow nodded. "Yeah, they know that." Buffy nodded. "So, what are you guys doing here anyway? And how'd you know where my dorm is?" Allie glanced at Kristi. "Brainiac here looked it all up. We stopped by your place first and your mom told us you were here. She just gave us directions to the campus and we hunted you down. Dawn has really grown up since L.A." Buffy frowned slightly. She wished they knew the truth about Dawn. That she wasn't real. That all those memories of her were fake. But she knew better. "Yeah. She's growing up really fast. Now back to why you guys are here." Allie nodded. "Well, it sorta has to do with the thing that happened when we ran into each other that summer in L.A." Allie said, trying to sound inconspicuous. Buffy looked shocked. She knew what Allie was thinking of and she looked at Kristi, who was looking at Allie, obviously confused. Buffy looked back at Allie to see her shake her head. Buffy relaxed. Kristi didn't know that she was the Slayer. Good news. "Okay, um. Allie, you wanna go get a coffee or something? Kristi, I know Willow has a ton of questions for you. Would you like to stay here?" Kristi looked away from Allie and smiled. "Yeah. I kinda wanna get to know you. I like ya." Willow smiled and nodded. "Okay. We'll be back later." Buffy grabbed her coat and led Allie out the door. Kristi turned and smiled at the red head. "So, how did you become like the smartest girl in California?" Willow asked.  
  
***************************************  
  
"Man, Buffy. You have no idea how much I missed you." Allie said. She and Buffy were sitting at a table in the Espresso Pump. Two mocha lattaes sat on the table before them. "Believe me, Allie. I think I have an idea. I've missed you too ya know." Buffy replied. Allie smiled. She had missed this so much. Sitting around chatting with her best friend who she never got to see. Just like old times. "So, Allie. Not that I'm not grateful to see you, but what did you want? Did something happen back in L.A? I mean you did say that it had something to do with what you saw happen last time I was there. Did someone get attacked?" Buffy asked. Allie shook her head. "No. It doesn't have anything to do with vampires. How is your experience with ghosts?" Buffy shuddered. She remembered one of her experiences with ghosts. It was the night of the Sadie Hawkins Dance. She had been lured there by James, one of the ghosts. That was when Angel had been…not himself. But he had been there waiting for her and that was when they both got possessed by the ghosts, James, who had possessed her, and Grace who had possessed Angel. The only thing Buffy could recall after that was that when she was herself again she had been kissing Angel. Her Angel. Then he had shoved her away and ran off. Then she remembered. He wasn't her Angel. Buffy pulled back to reality. She looked at her old time best friend. "Uh, not very much. But I have a little experience in the area of ghosts. Why?" Allie looked at her. "Because we have one. A bad one. He wants us dead. Big time. He even said it. He appeared before us and said so. We came here hoping you could help us get rid of him. Ya know, I didn't tell Kristi and Amber about the little incident that happened that time you came to L.A. I just told them that you could maybe help us. Can you?"  
  
Buffy looked at her once again. She saw how much her friend needed help. This bastard threatened my best friends. That definitely makes it so he deserves a good beating, she thought. No one got away with threatening her friends for very long. "Yeah. You know I can, All. I just need to talk to my Watcher, Giles and see what he knows about ghosts. Then we'll go get this guy. Oh, sorry. This dead guy." The two friends smiled at each other.  
  
To be continued? 


	4. Chapter Three: Pleasantries and stories

CAPTER THREE  
  
"Okay, so my premonition gave this address, but it doesn't really look like a ghost would be haunting it." Phoebe said as they stood outside of the beach house her premonition led them to. Paige looked at her. "Yeah, but we don't really look like super witches either but we are." Phoebe looked at her younger sister. She was right. Piper looked at her sisters. "Okay, so what do we do now? Go up to the door and ask if there is a ghost haunting them? Hello? Can you say 'demented'?" Prue glared at her sister. "Piper, this is no time for jokes. This ghost sounds really bad. We need to find out why he is after them. But she has a good point. How do we find out? They will think we are crazy if we just confront them with it. Even if they are the ones being haunted." At that moment a car pulled up behind them. They turned around to see a man get out. A very cute man too, Paige pointed out. He was tall and wore all black. He walked toward them and halted. He stared at them. Phoebe recognized him from her premonition. She leaned toward and whispered to her big sister. "He's one of the guys from my premonition. One of the ones who were fighting." Prue nodded. The man began to walk again.  
  
Piper stepped out to meet him. She held out her hand to him and smiled. "Hi! I'm Piper. These are my sisters Prue, Paige, and Phoebe. And you are?" The man looked down at Piper's hand before taking it. "I'm Angel." Paige smiled. Angel, she thought. That's a nice name. I'd love to scream it during- Her thoughts were interrupted by her oldest sister's voice. "Do you  
  
know who lives here?" Prue asked, trying to seem as innocent as possible. Angel stared at her. Something didn't seem normal with these sisters. It was almost as if they weren't entirely human. He nodded anyway. "Yeah, I do. Why do you want to know?" All three sisters paused at that question. Prue nudged Piper in the side. Piper began to yell at her sister but stopped when she realized what Prue wanted her to do. Piper threw her hands up to freeze time. The man named Angel still stood. But unfrozen. Piper gasped. As did her sister's. "He didn't freeze!" Paige yelled, then her hands flew to her mouth as she realized what she had done. Angel looked at them strangely. "Freeze? What do you mean ' he didn't freeze'? I don't see any cops around. No one shouted 'Freeze'. What did you mean?" Piper winced. Her powers never failed like that. She threw her hands up again, hoping it would work. It didn't, the man still remained able to move. She looked to her sisters for help. They were as shocked as she was.  
  
Phoebe looked at the mysterious man. There was something about him. Something that reminded her about Cole. Was he a demon? But then why would she have seen him fighting with the good guys? Angel looked at them and finally figured out why these three girls seemed not normal. 'He didn't freeze'. Freezing time was a power of a witch. "You're witches. That's why you don't smell human. You aren't." He said. The three sisters stood frozen in place. "That's not so! We are too human. Just not full human." Paige said, defending them. Piper elbowed her in the ribs. Prue stepped toward Angel. "What did you mean by SMELL human? How can you tell if someone's human by smelling them?" Angel looked at the girl who had addressed him. She had a certain look in her eye that told him she knew something wasn't right with him, and he noticed it in the other' s eyes as well. "Because he's not human either." All of them turned to the voice that had interrupted them. Bright, white lights appeared and a man took their place. "Leo?" Piper asked, surprised to see her husband there. Right on cue, another form appeared beside him. "Cole?" Phoebe said at the same time Angel said "Balthazar?" The sisters looked at him, and he looked right back.  
  
Cole stepped toward Angel. "Angelus. Long time no see. How you been? We saw each other, what? 70? 80 years ago?" he said, regarding Angel with, what looked to the sisters as respect. He only looked at him. Then he replied, "It was 75 years ago." Cole nodded. Phoebe looked at her demon boyfriend and back at the man who was obviously not what he seemed. "Uh, okay. So Angel? You obviously know Cole and vice versa. But, if you two saw each other 75 years ago, you aren't human. What are you? A demon?" Phoebe asked. Angel began to answer but Cole interrupted. "No. Angelus here is worse than a demon. He's a vampire." Angel glared at Cole. Paige looked at them both. "A vampire? As in the sucking blood, changing into bats and sleeping in coffins sort of vampire?" "Coffin. I hate that stereo type," Angel grunted, not for the first time. He turned to the sisters. "First off, vampires don't sleep in coffins. They don't change into bats. That story was made popular by hackwriters. We do move around during the day as long as we stay out of the sun. We do not change into bats. Unless we have the power of transmografacation. Which not many of us have." The witches stared at him.  
  
"So, you really are a vampire? As in Dracula?" Piper asked, suddenly very interested. Angel shook his head. "Dracula. He's a sorry excuse for a vampire. He's the one who let everyone know about us. Let on to the way to kill us and the no reflection thing." Prue looked at her sisters in disbelief. So this hottie is a vampire? Well, I'm for a new experience, Paige thought as she looked at Angel again. Angel finally turned his attention to Cole. "What are you doing here, Balthazar? In team with witches? Or are they warlocks?" he asked. Prue looked offended. "Hey! We are anything but warlocks! Just because Piper dated one, does not mean we are warlocks! We are good witches. We are the Charmed Ones." Her sisters nodded their heads. Angel looked at them shocked. "The Charmed Ones? I thought they were just a myth." The sisters looked at him confused.  
  
This time it was Leo who answered. "Well, that's what they were thought of for the longest time because they never were out vanquishing demons until about three years ago. Now they are known all through the Underworld. It's no wonder you don't know about them. Of course, you aren't really into all the evil stuff now, right?" Okay. Now I am confused, Phoebe thought. "What do you mean, Leo?" Piper asked her whitelighter husband. "Angel, that is what they call you now, isn't it? Angel?" At Angel's nod he continued. "Angel is a vampire. That is true. But he isn't like other vampires. He helps people instead of kill them." "Why? What is it? One of those 'Dr. Jeckyll, Mr. Hyde things?" Phoebe asked. They could all tell she didn't trust Angel. Cole was the one who answered. "No. About, oh, I'd say a hundred years ago, Angelus here was cursed. These gypsies restored his soul. See, when you turn into a bloodsucker, your soul leaves your body, allowing the demon to enter so you have no remorse, no guilt. But the curse made him so he knows all that. Torture if you ask me. Trust me. I know." He turned to the vampire, who was still trying to handle the Charmed Ones news. "What changed, Angelus? Last time I saw you, you were on the brink of suicide. What makes you so strong now? But, even if you don't tell me, I think I have a pretty good idea. Little blond Slayer that saved your soul and also took it away. What was her name? Betty or something?" Angel glared at him. "Us demons. We hear about you vamps. Especially you. Is it true? Any of it?" Angel nodded. "Even the part about Darla? That you staked her?" Angel just looked at Cole. "Man. You sorta got burned for eternity for that one. Staking your own sire. That's pretty bad, considering that your supposed to stay loyal to them. Bet your reputation really got ruined for that one."  
  
Now it was Angel's turn to ask the questions. "Shut up, Balthazar. What are you doing here? Did you just shimmer in to give witches the 411 on vampires and bring up old memories? And for the record, it's Angel now." There was a tone in Angel's voice that made Piper shiver. But there was also a look in his eyes that made her feel like she had seen it before. Cole shrugged. "What can I say? I'm good now. And don't look at me like that. You can ask them. I've saved their lives several times." Angel nearly laughed. "You are good now? The mighty Balthazar? What happened? Did you wake up one day and have a change of heart? Or was it a witches spell?" Cole nodded and bobbed his head in Phoebe's direction. "Yeah. It was a spell alright. The spell of love. You know what that is like from what I hear." Angel looked to Phoebe. She looked at him too and smiled. He recognized that smile. It was the smile of a young woman in love. Buffy had worn that smile a lot when he was around. Angel winced. Why did I have to think that? He turned his attention back to the witch. "He's telling the truth. He fell in love with me and he is good now. He wouldn't hurt anyone. Just like you wouldn't."  
  
"Look, Angelu-Angel. I know you don't believe me. And trust me I can understand that since you were a witness to a lot of me acts. But I am good now, just like you." Angel looked at him again. He didn't see the hateful eyes of a demon anymore. He didn't see the menacing glare of a killer. He saw something different. He saw pain filled eyes and a look that was screaming for forgiveness. He imagined that he himself looked much the same. Angel nodded. "Alright, so you're good. And the Charmed Ones do exist. What are you doing here?" "Uh, we were sent here. By them. You know the higher powers or what ever people call them. Phoebe had a vision and it led us here," Piper explained, still concentrating in what was so familiar about this…vampire. "Why are you here?" "Pretty much the same scenario. My colleague had a vision and we got this address. We own a private investigation agency and the women Doyle saw in the vision hired us to help. I was coming to talk to one of them." Prue nodded. "Yeah, basically the same with us. Except we never met them yet. Plus it doesn't look like anyone's home. We haven't tried knocking yet. We were gonna but then you showed up and we pretty much ended up where we are right now." Angel nodded and looked at the house. All the windows were dark and there was no car anywhere other than the one he had driven and the one the young witches had arrived in.  
  
"It sorta looks like no one's home," Paige said, her gaze still fixed on the vampire. He was still good after all. "Should we maybe come back later? You know, go somewhere and sort everything out?" She looked to her older sisters, who looked to the vampire. "Well, I guess it's up to you Mr. Angel," Prue said, just as interested in the vampire as Paige was. "It' s just Angel. No mister. Just the one name thing. Makes the job easier. Pleasantries don't take too much time." Prue smiled and nodded. She was falling for a vampire. Well there's always a first time for everything, isn't there? Angel smiled weakly back at the witches. His attention was mainly focused on the one who introduced herself as Piper. There was something very familiar about her. Not in the sense that he had ever met her, but in her eyes was a familiar look. He recognized it instantly. He had seen that look in Buffy's eyes many times. And he had put it there. Despair, mixed with pain and love. He noticed that the whitelighter had the same look. The lighter was obviously more than a guide to that Charmed One. He shook it off and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good. We can head back to my offices and that way you all only need to explain things once. Just follow me. I can take someone in my car if you don't have room," he said, indicating Cole and Leo. Prue and Paige jumped at the chance. "I'll go with you" they both shouted in unison. The sisters looked at each other, then turned to the handsome vampire who stood there giving them strange looks. He nodded. "Uh, okay. You guys can just follow behind us. I'm sure my co-workers will enjoy your story." He turned and began walking toward the black convertible, Prue and Paige on his heels.  
  
Piper looked at her older and baby sister. She turned to Phoebe. "Something tells me this is going to be a very long assignment." With that, Piper started the car and followed the vampire into the night.  
  
*****************  
  
Allie followed Buffy to her "Watcher's" apartment. She had told Buffy the entire story of the haunted beach house and Buffy had convinced her to tell her Watcher the same thing. Now as they walked toward the door, Allie looked at her best friend. "Um, maybe you should do this instead, Buff. You know, he is your Watcher and all. You can tell the story better." Buffy glanced at her friend as she knocked. "Allie, the person who can tell the story better is the person who lived the tale. That' s what Daddy used to say remember?" Allie nodded and held her breath when the door opened and a middle aged man stood inside, smiling when he saw the young blonde at his door. "Buffy," he said, his English accent very clear. "What brings you here? And who is that with you? Has something happened?" Allie was amazed at how fast the smile melted from the man's face and was replaced by a look of worry.  
  
Buffy shook her head. "Not yet, anyway. This is my friend Alexandra Sullivan. She's from L.A. This is Rupert Giles. A friend of mine." Giles extended his hand and shook with the young brunette. "Hi, you can call me Allie. I hate it when people call me Alexandra. It sounds too proper." Giles grinned at the young girl. She was a very pretty thing, with long blonde hair and blue-green eyes that shined. She looked a bit like Buffy, but a little taller and less muscle built. Although, Buffy wasn't exactly muscle built, she did have muscles, while this girl, if she did have any, they were certainly not visible. "How do you do? You may call me Giles if you wish. It seems that everyone else already does, so I can't see why you cannot. Please come in." Giles stepped back to allow the two girls to enter, giving his ex-Slayer a strange glance that said, What is she doing here? "Rupert?" a female voice yelled from the kitchen. "Is someone here? I thought I heard Buffy." Allie looked up to see a beautiful dark haired woman come from a hallway. She was medium sized and her eyes were brown. She smiled when she saw the young Slayer. "And I guess I was right. Hello, Buffy." Buffy waved and smiled. Buffy looked at her friend. "Allie this is Miss Jenny Calendar. She used to be a teacher at Sunnydale High. Before it blew up." Allie looked at her friend. This was the Jenny Calendar who had died? She remembered Buffy talking about her. The vampire she had fallen in love with—Angel, if she remembered right—had killed this woman those years ago. He had broken her neck. So why was she standing there right now? Jenny smiled at the newcomer.  
  
"Hi. Allie? I like that name. It's very pretty. As Buffy said, I'm Jenny. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand and Allie shook her hand and smiled. Giles stepped forward towards the two young women. "Jenny is my fiance. We'll be married in 2 months," he said proudly, as the love of his life looked up at him. Allie smiled. "Congrats. Hope it works out. Not that it won't but you now, just some good luck." Buffy stepped forward. "Okay, Giles back to the reason we came here. As I said, Allie is a friend of mine from L.A., and she and my friend Kristi, who is with Willow right now, came here to ask for my help. See, Allie here…knows that I'm the Slayer. She found out that summer I was gone." Both Jenny and Giles looked at her. Buffy seemed to be very nervous. Allie took this as her cue to take over. "It's not like she just came out and told me. It wasn't anything like that. We ran into each other and then I got attacked by a vampire and Buff saved me. Then she had no other choice but to tell me. She told me everything. She was going through a lot, you know. It's amazing that the Slayer here is still standing. But then again, she always was really strong." She smiled at Buffy who was smiling back, and it was like it was a long time ago, when they were best friends who smiled all the time and never hid secrets from each other. Allie's little reverie was interrupted by Giles. "Buffy would this be the summer that you ran away?" he asked. Buffy looked down, regretting the memory. She nodded and looked up at her old Watcher, who looked very confused. Then her gaze shifted to Miss Calendar, who was smiling at her sweetly. Buffy smiled back and knew that the young Gypsy would not let Giles be mad at her. The two women had made up a while ago, when Jenny had first come back. They were okay now, friends. And it was gonna stay that way.  
  
Giles looked at Allie, who stood beside Buffy, not sure of what to do next. "What kind of help did you need from Buffy?" Allie looked at him and answered simply, "I've got a ghost." Giles once again looked confused. "Me and Buff's friends, Kristi and Amber, we moved into a beach house. We live there together and we found out that it was haunted. We have a ghost who wants us out or dead and we need Buffy's help to get rid of him." Giles still looked confused. "Rupert, they are being haunted and they need Buffy's help to get rid of the ghost. I think that's what Allie is saying," Jenny said. Giles nodded. "Ah," he said and Allie looked at Buffy. "He always does that. It means that he gets it," she said. Allie smiled. "Giles. The thing is, is that we have only come up against one or two ghosts. We don't really know that much about them and from the way Allie described this ghost, I need to know a lot about them and ways to kill them. So, what do you know about ghosts?" Buffy said, sitting down on the couch and motioning for Allie to join her.  
  
Jenny looked at Giles and then back at the girls. "Rupert, why don't you fill them in on all the fun info on ghosts and I'll make some tea." She smiled again at Allie and then disappeared into the kitchen. It was then that Giles noticed that Allie was still standing. He motioned for her to join Buffy on the couch. "Please, Allie, make yourself at home. Now if you could please tell me about this ghost and what exactly brings you to think that it wants to hurt you and your friends." Allie nodded as she sat down. "Well, it all started when Kristi, Amber and I got settled in….."  
  
*******  
  
They all sat in the lobby of the Hyperian Hotel. The vampire, the witches, the whitelighter, demon, and the humans. "Now, you said that you three are the Charmed Ones, the three sisters that one of the prophesies speak of?" Wesley asked the four girls who sat in the center of the room. They nodded. "And yet there are four of you?" Prue smiled at the British man's confusion. "Yeah. There were originally three of us. But then I was killed and Paige," indicating the woman on the farthest right, who smiled and waved, "was discovered by Piper and Phoebe as our long lost half sister. So she became the third sister. Then a few months ago, They, the higher powers or whatever you wanna call them, decided to give my sisters back something so they brought me back to life, erasing my death from everyone's heads who don't know the truth about us. So the prophecy was a little mistaken, but we are still the Charmed Ones, it's just not the Power of Three anymore, but instead the Power of Four."  
  
Wesley nodded and smiled. "Fascinating." The four witches smiled. Angel looked at the witches. Two of them, the ones called Piper and Phoebe sat next to Balthazar and the whitelighter, who introduced himself as Leo, and the other two who had ridden with him, Prue and Paige, sat on either side of him, smiling brightly whenever he looked at them. Which is what they were doing right now. He looked between them and smiled, obviously uncomfortable. He wasn't really fond of witches. They tend to be very hostile when it comes to vampires. Even though these witches have made no move to hurt him, he was still on his guard. "Okay, something I have to know," Cordelia said, getting everyone's attention. They all looked at her. "What about your names? Does having them all start with 'p' help your magic or something? Cause they all start with 'p' and I'm sorry if I'm being rude but I am just curious." All of the sisters laughed. It was Piper who answered. "No. Doesn't help our magic or anything, I think. Names that begin with 'p' just run in the family. Our mother's name was Patty and our grandmother's name was Penny. So I suppose they just run in the family." Cordelia nodded. "Okay, can we get back to business here? These witchy women said that they had some kind of vision that led them here. What did you see?" the man who they had been told was named Gunn asked. Phoebe looked at him. He was obviously impatient. She wasn't really fond of him. "I saw three women who were obviously scared beyond comprehension. Then I saw a lot of people fighting and, I know now that a few of those people are all of you. I saw everyone of you in my premonition."  
  
Doyle stood up and walked to Phoebe. "Did you see a ghost and a blond girl losing her battle to a bunch of demons?" he asked. She nodded. "Same thing I saw. Only I didn't see us. I saw the four of you flipping through a very big book. Now I can assume that it was your book of magic?" They all nodded. Paige looked at Angel, but talked to Doyle. "It's called the Book Of Shadows. We brought it with us to L.A thinking we might need it. It's back at the hotel. I mean the hotel we are staying in. Not this one." She smiled and Angel returned it, more uncomfortable than he was before. It was obvious that he could tell she and Prue obviously thought he was attractive. He thought that they were attractive too, just not in the wanting-to-date-them sense. "Uh, excuse me?" They all turned their attention to the girl they had been told was Fred, which, when they looked at her strangely, told them it was short for Wenifred. "Uh, I was just wondering. If Doyle and uh, Phoebe? Right? Phoebe had the same vision, does that mean something? Like we are supposed to work together or somethin'?" The group looked at each other. Wesley cleared his throat. "Well, it would be nice to have more experienced magic users in our midst in case we need it. I would be honored to do work with the Charmed Ones although I suppose it is their choice." Before any of the young witches could answer, Leo stood up and addressed them all. "Actually that is exactly what the visions meant. The Elders want you all to work together to get the job done. Because, not just the girls or any one here can do it alone. Also, the Slayer has to assist us." Angel looked up sharply. His associates looked at him. Prue and Paige looked at him. Cole chuckled. Phoebe looked at him. Piper just looked confused. "What's a Slayer?" she asked. "It's what made Angel here turn his life around and actually see that there are people who matter," Cole said and laughed when he saw Angel glare at him. "A Slayer is exactly what it sounds like. A Slayer. Uh, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce? You were a Watcher once weren't you? Would you tell them? I'm not entirely sure how the speech goes," Leo said. Wesley looked up at the whitelighter, then at the young witches who were looking at him. "Uh, into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world; a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires to stop the spread of their evil. She is the Slayer. I believe that is how it goes."  
  
"Oh," Piper said. She turned to Angel, who looked depressed. "So, what did Cole mean? Were you friends with the Slayer?" Cole laughed again receiving yet another glare from Angel. "Pretty good friends from what I hear. The kind of friends you and Leo are." With those words Piper's mouth dropped open. "You slept with a Slayer? As in, dated one? A vampire dated the one person who was born to kill your kind and you dated her? Isn't that like, a big no-no for you guys?" Angel just looked at her. "Isn't it a big no-no for witches to get married to their whitelighters?" At that remark Piper smiled. "So, I assume you and this Slayer aren't much for following the rules either, huh?" Angel smiled back. He liked this sister. Obviously she and Leo had been through the same trouble as he and Buffy had. Well, maybe not exactly the same. He doubted that Leo ever turned evil if his wife gave him perfect happiness. Angel, stop thinking of things that remind you of Buffy, he thought. He winced. If it was so hard to just think about her, how was it going to be when he actually came face to face with her? The voice of one of the sisters broke into his thoughts. "So, what's this Slayer's name?" Phoebe asked. She was asking Angel. "Uh, her name is Buffy. Buffy Summers." Piper gasped. "Buffy Summers? Are you kidding? Little blond girl from L.A? Her mom is Joyce Summers? Is this the Buffy you are talking about?" Angel nodded. Prue looked at her sister. "What is it, Piper?" Piper smiled. "I was her tutor for two years when she still lived in L.A. You remember when I moved out here after college? I tutored her for two years. Then she got expelled for burning down her school gymnasium. Did that have something to do with the supernatural? Or was she just being a rebel liked everybody thought?" Angel looked at her. "Vampires." Piper nodded. "Oh. But are you sure she's the Slayer? I mean, she's so little." Angel laughed.  
  
"Anyway, back to business. How do we get the Slayer, Buffy, here?" Phoebe asked. "Two of the girls already went to get her. They were friends of hers from high school. I guess we don't have to worry about getting her here," Cordelia said. Phoebe nodded. "So, I suppose we should all get to work if we are to defeat this ghost. Fred, would you mind getting on the computer and locating anything about that house that Amber and her friends live in? Perhaps previous owners? She said something about the ghost being dressed as a mobster. Perhaps that may help," Wesley said. The young brunette nodded and went over to the computer. He turned his attention to Doyle. "Doyle, would you accompany one of the Halliwell sisters back to their hotel and retrieve their Book of Shadows? Gunn, check your sources. See if you can't find anything out." They all nodded. Doyle looked at the four sisters. "Well, who wants to help a poor man get a so called magic book from a hotel? One of which he has no idea where it is. Or which one?" Phoebe stood up. "I'll go. I'll look through it on the way back here. See if there is anything useful in it." She took her coat and pulled it on as she followed Doyle out the door.  
  
Angel got up, with a little difficulty since he had Prue and Paige on each of his arms. "Uh, ladies. I am sort of going to need my arms back now," he said, looking between the two witches. They both blushed and let go. Angel smiled and walked over to the counter, picking up a book entitled, Ghosts: Secrets and Facts. It was then that Leo spoke up. "I'll go talk to the elders and see if they know anything. I'll be back as soon as I can." He leaned down and kissed Piper lightly on the cheek, then orbed out, stunning Cordelia, Fred and Wesley. "Whoa! What just happened? What happened to him?" Cordelia yelled. Prue turned to look at her. "Oh, he just orbed out. That's what whitelighters do. Paige can do it too. She just hasn't completely mastered it yet." Cordelia just nodded and got back to doing her research. Piper stood up and looked at the group of people busy at work. "What can we do?" she asked. Wesley tossed them each a book. "If you don't mind, we could use some assistance in researching ghosts." They all nodded and took seats. Angel came and sat next to Piper, smiling at the young witch.  
  
She returned the smile and opened the book. After a minute, she looked back up at the vampire, watching him as he read. "Can I ask you something?" she asked. Angel looked at her and shut his book. "Sure." "Why, of all people in the world, did you fall for a Slayer? And before you say anything, I don't know about Leo. I'm just wondering. Why start dating a Slayer? I mean, that had to be hard. Didn't it ever worry you that she might stake you? Or you might have bitten her?" He looked at Piper and realized what she was wondering. She wanted to know if he had gone through the same kind of pain she had. He laughed a little. "Can you really control anything like that? Who you fall for? And I didn't fall for a Slayer. I fell for Buffy. Just ordinary Buffy. I saw her before she became the Slayer, when she was just a normal girl and that was who I fell for. I never worried about biting her. Because I knew I never would. I would never hurt the woman I love. That's the entire reason why I left. So I wouldn't hurt her." Piper looked at him more closely. "You loved her?" Angel shook his head. "Not loved. Love. I still love her and I always will. Does that answer your question, Piper?" She nodded and looked down at her book, and Angel didn't miss it when she wiped tears from her eyes.  
  
"That's how I felt about Leo, I guess. He started out as our handyman as a way to look after us. Then we found out that he was our whitelighter. But I fell in love with Leo before that. And that still didn't change when we found out the truth." Angel smiled again at the girl, seeing that she still wasn't looking at him. "Did, did you have trouble with Buffy? Keeping your relationship going strong?" she asked. It was then Angel knew that she had had trouble with her relationship. Maybe longer than he and Buffy had. "Yeah. We did. We came across a lot of hard decisions. Sometimes we gave up. But not for good. We always found some way to be together," he answered. Piper finally looked up at him and she wore a sad smile on her face. "Then why are you here without her?" she asked. He looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I tend to do that sometimes. Bad, bad Piper. Just forget I ever mentioned it." Angel smiled again and was amazed at how much Piper reminded him of Buffy. "It's okay. There was one obstacle we didn't get passed. Well, at least, I couldn't. I wanted her to have a normal life. Or at least as normal as it could get. And I realized that I couldn't give that to her. I can't give her children or a real future. There wouldn't be a lot of sunshine picnics in the park if she spent her life with me. So I left, giving her a chance to move on. I know it hurt her. We were more in love than anything. But I wanted her to have a future and move on. So I gave her that chance."  
  
Piper looked at him, and now tears were rolling down her cheeks. Angel smiled and wiped them off. Piper laughed and blushed. "Sorry. I didn't realize I was crying. It just sounds like you had a rough time too. So, did it work? Did she move on?" Angel looked down again. "Yeah. She met a guy named Riley Finn." Piper smirked. "Riley Finn? You sure he wasn't some type of fish demon? Or possibly related to fish? Because, that's the impression I am getting from his name." Angel smiled and laughed. This was definitely his favorite Halliwell sister. That was decided right now. "I don't know. But that's what I thought at first. But she started seeing him. But it didn't last. He left her not long into the relationship. I found all that out from her friend Willow. She kept asking me to come back and give the relationship another shot. But I told her no. I still want to give Buffy a shot at a normal life. Give her a chance to move on."  
  
Piper nodded. She understood that. Leo had wanted that for her too. Of course, they were married now. "Piper?" Piper turned at the sound of her older sister calling her name. She looked back at Angel and smiled. "Sister needs me." She got up and sat the book on the couch she and Angel were sitting on. Before she walked away she turned back to the vampire. "You know, Angel. I'm not trying to meddle or anything, but I think there is one thing you failed to consider. Buffy can't move on. No one can move on to another love when someone already owns their heart. You own Buffy's. She can't give it to anyone else now. Because, until the end of the world, or longer, you will always posses it." With that she smiled at the vampire and turned to see what her sister wanted. Angel watched her as she walked away, her words stuck in his mind. That's why he didn't see Cole until he sat down beside him. "Piper got to you didn't she?" he asked. Angel just looked at him then got back to reading. "She does that. She makes you see the things you don't consider. That's what she did with me after I asked Phoebe to marry me. She made me see that just because she never answered me proposal until a few weeks ago didn't mean she didn't want to marry me."  
  
Angel looked up from his book. "You're marrying a witch?" Cole looked at him. "You bedded a Slayer. Why is it wrong for me to marry a witch?" Angel sighed and looked back at his book. "But Angel. You need to realize that whatever Piper says you should really think about. Because she usually is always right." Cole looked one more time at the vampire, who now wasn't looking at the book at all, but somewhere into space, and got up, leaving Angel alone with his thoughts.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, in the hotel the sisters were staying at, Doyle watched as Phoebe unlocked the door to their room. "So, you are half demon?" she asked. The entire ride to the hotel they had talked about their lives. Doyle had been very intrigued by Phoebe's story of how the Book was discovered and how the sisters came to as where they are today. Then it was Doyle's turn to share, and he had just told her he was half demon. "Yeah, sure am. My ma was human. My da, well, he wasn't." Phoebe nodded. She wasn't even worried that he may attack her. She had learned from Cole that not all demons are evil. She realized that Doyle's story wasn't that different from Cole's. The only difference was that Cole's mother had been the demon. His father had been human. "Did you always know? Or did you not?" Doyle smiled. "I didn't know first thing, if that's what you mean. I didn't find out till I was…21. I was married at the time. You can sorta say it didn't work out," he said, feeling sad when he thought of Harry, his previous wife.  
  
Phoebe turned to him before walking into the room. "She couldn't accept it?" she asked, remembering how long it had taken her sisters to accept Cole. "No, she did. That was the problem. Well, course she freaked out at first, but then she just kept wanting me to mingle with other demons and I didn't want that. I wanted to try and have a normal life. Not to mention that Harry and I were talking about having kids of out own and I couldn't handle the fact that my kids would be part demons. The marriage just hit rocky paths after that." Phoebe nodded and smiled a sad smile. She knew that some marriages that involved one of the significant others were supernatural. Her mother and father had gone through it. Their marriage didn't work because he wanted to raise the girls as little girls, not witches. Of course, their mother wouldn't hear of it. But it all passed and no one really talked about it anymore. Especially around Prue.  
  
"Sorry. Well, anyway, here we are. The hotel we are currently staying at. Just hold on one sec while I get the Book and then we can go." She smiled at Doyle then went to a suitcase that was sitting on the bed with a padlock on it. "Pretty over protective of that book I assume?" Doyle asked, a slight smirk on his face. "Well, demons are always trying to steal it. Hell, Paige even took it once. Of course, she didn't realize it's importance at first. Now she does." He watched as the witch unlocked the suitcase and pulled out a very large book that looked old. Very old. "Wow. That's something. How old is that ting?" he asked. Phoebe grinned up at him. "First, tell me how old Angel is." Doyle thought a moment. "Oh, I'd say about 248." Phoebe laughed. "This book is over 100 years older than him." She laughed again when she looked up to see the half demon's mouth hanging open. "Okay, Mr. Shocked-and Confused. Let's go. We have a ghost to research.  
  
*********  
  
Allie had told her story, but not without Giles interrupting her time and again, and every time receiving a glare from his former Slayer. "So, the ghost said to get out or you will die? Correct?" Giles asked. Allie nodded. "He was really serious too. Or at least he seemed like he was. It really freaked us all out. And we are still scared stiff. We can't even sleep at night. Is there any way that you know of to get rid of him. It. Whatever you call it." Giles looked at her for a second before answering. "Uh, well, it will most likely call for some research. It will not take that long if everyone pitches in. Buffy, if you would please give Xander and Anya a call? Ask them to come and give us a hand. Also get a hold of Willow. She knows quite a bit about the supernatural. Uh Allie. If you don't mind my asking, your other two roommates, they do not know of Buffy's true identity, do they?" Allie shook her head. "I swore to Buff that I would not tell a soul and I kept that promise. I didn't tell anyone. Kristi and Amber just know that Buffy can help us. They don't know anything else but that." Giles nodded. Buffy rose and walked towards the phone. She turned to regard Allie. "All, maybe you should call Amber first. Tell her that I will help. You know, so she can be ready to expect me."  
  
Allie nodded. She got up and picked up the phone, dialing the number of her home. "Amber, it's me. Yeah, I am here with Buff. Okay," she pulled the receiver away from her ear and smiled at Buffy. "Amber says hi." Buffy smiled. "Tell her hey for me." Allie's smile grew as she returned to her conversation. "Buff says hey. Yeah she's gonna help us. Uh huh. No she doesn't think we are crazy. I am pretty sure. Yeah. What? What people? PI? As in an actual Private Investigator? He what? Believed you? Oh. So they came to you. How did they know? Never said? Okay. What's the name again? Pretty girly, ain't it? Alright. So the ghost isn't bothering you right? I mean, nothing's happened? Good. Okay. We'll be there soon. Bye." Allie hung up the phone and looked at the three people in the room who were staring at her. "What?" she asked, confused once again. "What was that about a PI? Since when do they come to find you?" Jenny asked. Allie shrugged. "Don't know. Am just said that a PI came to see her and believed her story. So they are helping out. That is good right? I mean, having more people on our side?" Giles looked at her. "Uh, well, I would say so. It means the odds are on our sides." Suddenly, Buffy, who had been quiet since the mention of the word PI, spoke. "Allie, what is the name of the Private Investigator?" she asked and Giles automatically knew why. "A girly one, I'll tell you. Check it out. Angel Investigations. Bet the workers are really religious huh?" she laughed but stopped as soon as she saw her friends face. "Buff, what's wrong?" Buffy looked at the floor and after a few seconds looked at the three people in the room. Giles and Jenny looked at her nervously while her old high school friend looked at her with concern. "Allie do you remember the story I told you? About what all had happened?" Buffy asked. Allie nodded. "Yeah. About vampires and zombies and that vampire you loved…named…Angel. That PI is Angel? As in YOUR Angel?" At her nod, Allie sat down.  
  
"Oh boy. This is going to be sooo bad," she groaned and looked at her friend. Buffy had a strange look in her eyes that Allie had never seen before. It looked like pain. And a little of remorse. "Look, Buff. If this Angel guy is gonna create a little problem with it all, you don't have to help. I'd understand." Buffy stopped her with a shake of her head. "No. I said I would help and I stick by my word. Angel isn't the important problem. The ghost is. And I am gonna kick his ass." With those words, Allie smiled. But Giles and Jenny just looked at each other, wondering if Buffy's words were referring to the ghost or the vampire.  
  
An hour later the entire Scooby Gang were assembled. Allie and Kristi were at Buffy's mother's house. Buffy had insisted that they stay there instead of in a cheap and trashy motel room. They had accepted and now Buffy assumed they were regretting that decision because they were probably getting tortured by Dawn. Allie and Kristi had always been her favorite of Buffy's friends. Even if those memories were fake, Buffy still considered them real. "I don't understand why we have to research. Where are the so called victims? They should be here researching so Xander and I can stay home and copulate. Many times." The gang all squirmed at Anya's remark, choosing that it was best if they just ignored it. They all knew that the ex-demon still had much to learn about being human. Not talking about sex in public, for example. Xander grinned at her. "An, please don't talk about our sex life in front of everyone." Anya glared at him. "Why not? It's not like they haven't done it many times too. They know what it all is. Why should you be embarrassed? They have done it before. Of course, Buffy just chooses the wrong guys to do it with." She turned toward the Slayer, who looked rather offended. "Nothing personal, Buffy, it's just that you do. I mean, you and Angel could only do it once. Parker was a one nighter. And you didn't even sleep with Riley." The Slayer was gonna reply, but thought better of it and got back to reading the book on her lap. Willow glanced at her friend, seeing her taking no offense, but knowing it was just an act. Anya's comment had hurt her. The red-headed witch glared at her ex-demon.  
  
"What? What do you care about the men Buffy slept with? You're gay. You have Tara. You don't even drool over men anymore," Anya yelled. Willow rolled her eyes and glanced at Tara, who smiled at her. She returned the smile and turned back to her laptop, every now and then glancing at Buffy to make sure she was okay. Anya huffed and cuddled deeper into Xander's chest, ignoring the book in her arms. Giles emerged from the hallway carrying a very old and big book. He looked at all the people he had grown to call his family. They all looked up at him expectantly except for Buffy, who was looking down at a book. He knew she wasn't reading it. For one, it was upside down and for two, it was in Latin. He wondered what was wrong, but one look at her distant eyes he knew that it was Angel. "Whatcha got, G- man?" Giles's thoughts were interrupted by Xander's voice. He looked back at Xander and continued to walk into the room. "Something good, I think. And do not call me that ever again." He sat on the couch next to Jenny and smiled at his fiancee. "Based on the story Allie told us, I believe the ghost that is currently haunting their home would most likely be a poltergeist. A ghost which makes trouble because it was never laid to rest peacefully. It has some kind of….unfinished business, if you will."  
  
Buffy finally looked up from her book. "So how do we get rid of it?" Giles looked at her and shook his head. "I'm not sure. But most likely it would be to find out what happened to this ghost and right it so the ghost can finally rest in peace." " 'Rest in Peace.' Yeah, like those words are ever true," said a voice from the doorway. They all turned to see Spike leaning in the doorway. "Spike, what are you doing here?" Jenny asked. Spike smiled at her. He liked the Calendar woman. She had a type of spunk that Spike had to admire. "Just poppin' by, Gypsy. Now, what's this I hear about lying someone to rest?" Buffy stood up. "Nothing that concerns you, Spike. What do you really want?" The blonde vampire shrugged and came into the room. "Slow night. Thought maybe you bloats might have something I can kill." Xander looked up at him. "How about yourself? That will save everybody a lot of trouble if you just stake yourself." Spike glared at him. He had never liked Xander. He had learned to dislike him even more after Spike had had to live with him for a while. And that was enough torture, Spike thought. "Why don't you just shut your garb? That is what will save people a lot of trouble." Anya opened one of her eyes and glared at them both. "Why don't you both be quiet? Some people are trying to sleep." She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Xander. Spike glared at Anya, and turned his attention back to the Slayer and the Watcher. "So, do I have a job? Come on, Slayer. You can't leave me out."  
  
Buffy looked at him skeptically. "Oh? And why not?" she asked. Spike frowned. "Well, for one, I am part of this group. I have helped all of you out one bloody time or another. I deserve to have some of the fun too." Behind him, Willow smiled. He sounded like a child who was being denied going out to play with his friends. Buffy groaned. "Fine. You can help. What do you know about poltergeists?" Spike looked caught off guard with that one. Then he laughed. "A ghost? Since when is anyone being haunted around here?" he said. Tara was the one who answered. "It's n-not one of us. It's one of B-b-buffy's friends. She and her roommates are being haunted by a g-g-ghost. She wants us to help her." Spike turned to look at Buffy, a smirk on his face. "And of course you do-gooders accepted the request." Buffy glared at him. "Can it, Spike." She really didn't want to put up with the vampire right now. Especially since a different vampire was on her mind. "What's wrong, Slayer? What has your knickers in a twist?" Spike asked, acting concerned, but knowing he really wasn't. "Oh, she's just mad because her ex-vampire lover is helping the same friends she is. Her mind is occupied about what to do. I told her to just go and copulate with him, but she won't listen. Really Buffy. Copulating with him would solve all your problems," Anya said. Spike grinned when he heard this. "The poof is helping the same friends? Cor, I have to help now. I want to see this." Buffy glared at the blond vampire, but it didn't faze him at all.  
  
"Oh, oh! Guys, I think I might've found who's haunting the house." They all turned to Willow, who sat in front of her laptop. Buffy walked over to her. "What've you got, Will?" she asked, peering at the screen. "An article about a man who used to live there. Allie said something about the ghost looking like a gangster. Well, I looked up all the old home owners that lived there and all old newspapers and I think I found a match. Robert James Barber. He used to live in the same house Allie and her friends live in now. He was a member of some mob. It says in this newspaper article that he had killed over 100 people before he was shot down in the house by some other mob, I guess. 'Cause there isn't a mention that the police did it." Jenny nodded and looked at the computer screen. "Makes sense. Willow, does it say when he died?" she asked. Willow tapped the keys a few times. "Uh, 1945. It says that when the police searched the house after his murder, they found bodies wrapped in plastic and blankets and stuff in the basement. This guy sounded bad. If it is him, we have to hurry and find some way to help the quick, coz they could be in real trouble." Buffy nodded. Allie, Kristi and Amber probably were in big trouble. They had to do something. But they had no idea how to get rid of it. Did they? "Giles, do you know how to get rid of this guy?" the Slayer asked her ex-Watcher hopefully. Giles looked at her and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. But there is one person I think may know how." He hesitated. Buffy looked at him. "Well, Giles. Who?" Giles looked at his Slayer, hoping she would stay calm when he suggested what he was going to. It was then that he realized that everyone in the room was looking at him now. "Well, Buffy, the only other….person, I know that knows a bit about ghosts, is, um,…" he stopped talking and looked down. "Giles," Buffy said impatiently. Giles looked back up into his Slayer's waiting face. "Angel."  
  
Buffy froze. Everyone else did also, except Spike who was enjoying the look on the Slayer's face. Giles leaned in towards Buffy, searching her face for a reaction. All he saw was shock. He didn't know why. She had already known he would be helping. Of course, he also thought that she had assumed she wouldn't have to confront him. "Buffy," he repeated, and this time she blinked and looked at him. "So, does this mean I'm gonna have to see him again?" she asked, her voice a whisper. Giles nodded. Buffy closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Willow, Jenny and Tara looked at her sympathetically, Anya was asleep again, Xander was looking at Buffy sadly along with Giles, and Spike was still smiling. "As I said already, this should be good." Buffy opened her eyes again and looked at the vampire, right before slugging him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Well, Allie, Kristi, it is so good to have you two here. I just can't believe how much you two have grown up," Joyce Summers said as she poured the two girls another cup of Pepsi. Allie smiled as Kristi laughed. "Yeah, we know what you mean. Dawn, when did you grow up?" she demanded playfully, looking at the 15-year-old who sat across from her. Dawn smiled and shrugged. "Who knows. Time flies when you're young." Allie and Kristi both smiled. Joyce sat down and smiled at the two girls who had once been her oldest daughter's best friends. "So, Buffy tells me you had a problem with a ghost?" she asked. They both nodded. Buffy had told them both that Dawn and Joyce knew everything. Kristi still didn't know about Buffy's whole secret, just that Buffy knew about ghosts and could help. "Uh huh. Bad one. I think he wants to kill us. So, we need her help," Allie said. "So, why didn't Amber come? Why did she stay at the house?" Dawn asked. Kristi and Allie exchanged a glance. "She said that someone should stay there in case the ghost does something so she can call us to tell us. She said she would. But, I really think she was just nervous to see Buff again. But she'll be okay. She has other people who know this stuff and that are helping there with her."  
  
Dawn looked at them. "Who?" she asked. Allie smiled. "Actually, I think you know him. Both of you. Angel?" Allie looked at both of them as their faces went blank, then as they were replaced by different emotions. Joyce's face was combined with anger and, what looked like to Allie, regret. Dawn's face held hope and confusion. "Angel? Are you sure?" Dawn asked. She had always liked Angel. He had been like the big brother she had never had. She had liked him a lot more than Riley. Riley had been weird and he hadn't loved Buffy. Angel had and still did. That she knew. She remembered when it hadn't been long after she had met him that she asked him why he kissed her "irritating older sister". He had smiled and told her, "No matter how irritating she gets, it won't bother me. I love your sister and I always will." That was when Dawn had realized that Angel was the man for her sister. Then all the bad stuff happened and he left. Then he had come back and he and Buffy had been like they were before. Then he left again. And this time, he didn't come back. She remembered how she could hear Buffy cry every night after that, and she still did when she stayed at the Summers house every once in awhile. Then Dawn's heart stopped for a second when she realized that these memories weren't real at all. They didn't even happen.  
  
For Dawn wasn't real either. She was the Key. Nothing but energy. She had been sent to Buffy to be protected, and they created false memories of a sister. But now, the truth was out. And after a lot of talking, they had all convinced her that no matter what, she was still Dawn Summers, and she would always stay that way. At Allie's nod, Dawn smiled. Maybe he and Buffy could work it out somehow. And they could go back to the way they used to be. But one look at her mother's face told her differently. "Is Buffy going to see him," Joyce asked, her voice tight. Allie shrugged. "I don't know. She didn't say anything about it, but-" she was cut off by the phone ringing. Dawn was the one who answered it. "Hello?" she said into the receiver. "Oh, hi Buffy. Yeah, Allie's right here. Hang on." Dawn turned around to Allie, holding out the phone. "Buffy wants to talk to you." Allie stood and took the phone. "Hello? Yeah. You have to what? Go there too? Why? Oh. You really think he knows how? Listen, if it's gonna be a hassle, you don't have to help. Yeah, I know you promised, but. Okay. Fine. When? Tonight? Yeah Kristi and I will meet you there. Okay. See ya there. Bye." Allie hung up the phone and slowly turned to the other three people sitting in the room. "Uh, Joyce? In answer to your question, yeah." Joyce looked at her. Mamma Summers wasn't happy. Allie turned to Kristi. "Kris, Buff said she's gonna go to LA with us. She has to check in with that Angel guy. She said to meet her at Mr. Giles's place. We'll head out from there." Kristi nodded and stood up.  
  
Suddenly Dawn stood up. "Mom, can I go too?" All the women looked at the young girl. "Honey, why do you want to go to Los Angeles? It isn't a vacation. Buffy's going to get rid of a ghost," Joyce said. Dawn nodded. "I know, but I don't get to really go to LA much and I want to. This could be the last time for a long time. Please?" Joyce looked at her youngest daughter. She sighed. "Hand me the phone. We have to check with Buffy first." Dawn smiled and handed her mother the cordless. She watched as her mom dialed Giles's number and talked with her first born. "Okay, honey. I love you too. Bye." Joyce pushed the 'off' button and looked at her daughter. "Buffy said that it is fine as long as you be careful and stay out of the way. Now if you want to go, go pack a bag. I have a feeling this will be more than a one night visit." Dawn smiled and cheered before rushing up to her room to pack a bag, leaving the others to look at her retreating figure. Yes, I am going to LA. I will get Buffy and Angel back together if it's the last thing I do, Dawn thought as she packed her back. She made that a promise as she ran down the stairs and kissed her mother good-bye before rushing out the door with Allie and Kristi. 


	5. Chapter four: The Plot is Revealed

CHAPTER FOUR  
  
Phoebe and Doyle had arrived about an hour ago, and now Phoebe and Wesley, who had insisted he search with her, were looking through every inch of it. Paige and Prue were searching through old musty books with Cordelia at the counter while Fred searched the Internet. Leo still hadn't returned and Cole had shimmered out 15 minutes ago to find some information. Gunn had come up with nothing and was now going through a pile of old home owners records. Piper had once again joined Angel on the couch, and the two were talking while doing their share of the research. "Well, what I mean is, she has a chance at a normal life now. She can have everything I can't give her and I know she will want one day. I'm not saying I'll stop loving her or she'll stop loving me, but she deserves the chance," Angel was saying quietly to Piper. Piper nodded. "Yeah, I understand that, Angel. I really do. Leo wanted that for me too. And I had the chance to have it. With the guy next door, too. But then I realized that I can't. Have a normal life I mean. Dan could have gotten real hurt and then there was the entire witch thing. That's when I knew that I couldn't have the normal life. No picket fence or dog. No being a normal housewife. You didn't think, Angel, that Buffy can't have that normal life. No matter what. She's screwed into this supernatural life, just like me and my sisters. If anyone could have given her a happy life, it was you." Angel regarded the young witch for a moment.  
  
She was right. Buffy couldn't have the normal life he had left her for. "But, deep down I think you knew that," she said. "And I know you would never leave her just coz you got tired of trying. So, I'm wondering why else you would have left her." Angel looked into her eyes and saw that she knew the truth. She knew he didn't leave her just because of the things he couldn't give her. "There was something else. The curse the Gypsies put on me," he said, knowing she knew about it. the two had talked about their lives the entire time. Piper knew about the curse and how it had been broken. She knew all about that, but now she was wondering what else he had left the Slayer for. "Yeah. Is that why? Because of the entire happiness clause? Come on, Angel. You wouldn't let that happen again." Angel shook his head slightly. "No, Piper, at that point I didn't care. We were getting close again and all I could think of was of what would happen if it happened again. I didn't want to hurt her, and I knew that if it did happen again, no matter if I could stop it or not, I knew I wouldn't because it would mean that just once more, I could be with her. And I couldn't let that happen." He watched as Piper's brown eyes searched his face. "Now, that I understand," she said softly. Angel nodded and looked back down at his book, as did she. They looked up when the telephone rang. Wesley was the one to answer it.  
  
"Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless," he said into the receiver, and Angel receives strange looks from the Halliwell sisters. Angel looked at them and threw up his hands. "It wasn't my idea at all. It was Cordy's." This time Cordelia got the strange looks, but ignored them and got back to her book, and smiled when Doyle came out carrying a tray of mugs and sat one in front of her. "Mr. Giles?" Wesley said into the receiver in confusion. Angel and Cordelia looked at him. "Yes, it is good to hear you too. Yes. You understood right. Yes, we realize that also. Oh, dear. Are you certain that is very wise? Yes, I suppose so. Alright then. We'll keep a look out. Yes, good-bye to you too." Wesley hung up the phone and turned to Angel. The vampire looked at him expectantly. "Well?" he asked. Wesley swallowed. He really disliked telling Angel of the arrival of Buffy. Especially since Giles had told him that she would be there any minute. "It seems Giles had some news. It appears that Buffy-" He was cut off when a familiar voice finished his sentence. "Is here."  
  
They all turned to the doorway to see Buffy herself standing there and Dawn by here side. At that moment, everyone in the hotel froze, until Cordelia stood up and went to hug the blonde and the young girl who had just arrived. "Hey! Nice to see you two. Dawn, long time no see." Dawn smiled and returned the brunette's hug. "Ditto." Cordelia stepped back to allow them entry, but Dawn was the only one who moved. Buffy was standing in the same spot, her eyes connected with Angels, who wasn't moving either. They just looked at each other, years of pain and sorrow showing in their eyes. Buffy stopped breathing, and just stared at his dark orbs. They reflected all sorts of different emotions and she was sure hers were doing the same thing. Suddenly, all the pain from their past together resurrected and tears formed in the base of her blue eyes. He noticed them, she was sure, for he rose from his place on the small couch where a brunette girl sat, staring back at her. Angel walked over to Buffy and Dawn, and gently embraced his love. He shushed her and stoked her blonde hair, oblivious to the people around them. All that mattered was the girl in his arms.  
  
Piper's words to him earlier echoed through his head. That no matter how much time passed, her heart would always belong to him. He pulled back from the embrace and held Buffy's face in his hands, wiping the tears that had slipped from her eyes away. He smiled as she did, and pulled completely away. "What a way to say 'Hello', huh?" she asked. He nodded and turned to Dawn. He noticed she was crying too. He hugged her, and she returned it. "Good to see you, Little One," Angel said. Dawn smiled when he said 'little one'. That was the name he had called her when he lived in Sunnydale. He was the only one that was allowed to call her that. Not even her mother could. Only Angel. "You too," she said as they pulled apart. They both turned to face the others in the room. Dawn automatically recognized Wesley, the man who had came to replace Giles as Buffy and Faith's Watcher. She had heard the Council had fired him and that he had come to work for Angel. She, of course, recognized Cordelia, considering she had hugged them, and also because she could never forget her hero. She had always admired Cordelia. But there were two men she didn't know, along with 5 brunette women who she had never seen before. They all sat looking at them all. The girl who sat on the couch with Angel had a few tears in her eyes and Dawn wondered why.  
  
Angel turned to the both of them and waved his hand for them to enter. "Come on in," he said, addressing them both but looking at Buffy. They both nodded and followed him in. Buffy looked around and smiled at Wesley. He returned it and came forward. "Buffy, pleasure seeing you again. Dawn. I am glad to see you also," he said. Dawn smiled at him. "Same here, Wes," Buffy replied. The Slayer looked around at all the other people and recognized the Irish man she had never really been properly introduced to, Doyle. She smiled and extended her hand toward him. He took it and smiled. "At least now we can actually shake hands," he said with a smile. Buffy nodded and looked around again. Her gaze fell on the brunette who sat on the couch, looking at her. "Piper? Is that you?" Buffy said, walking toward her old tutor who had helped her with quite a lot of her homework in high school. Piper nodded and came to embrace the Slayer. They pulled back and looked at each other. Dawn looked at Angel and smiled. The vampire smiled back. "Who are the rest of these people?" Dawn whispered to him, the smile still on her face. Angel laughed softly and nodded. "Buffy, Dawn, these are the Halliwell sisters. They're here to help too," Angel said, indicating four of the brunettes, including Piper, who was still smiling at Buffy. "Yeah, I know Piper," Buffy said, turning around and her eyes met with Angel's again. Before they could stay connected, Angel reluctantly looked away and walked toward the other three sisters. "This is Prue, Phoebe and Paige. Piper's sisters."  
  
They all turned when they heard Dawn giggle. She looked at the others looking at her and shut up. "Uh, sorry. It's just that all their names start with 'P'," she said. They all smiled and turned around. "Why are they helping?" Buffy asked. Phoebe smiled. "We're witches and we were sent to help." Buffy nodded. Angel kept his gaze fixed on Buffy. She looked more beautiful than he ever remembered. Her hair was the length it was when Whistler had first revealed her to him. He also noticed that she had grown into her body. He knew that she wasn't the 16 year-old girl who had fallen in love with him once upon a time. She was a grown woman now. His thoughts were interrupted by Gunn clearing his throat. The vampire turned around to see Gunn standing beside Fred. Angel looked at them apologetically and introduced them. "This is Gunn and Fred, they work with us." Gunn nodded in their direction while Fred gave them a little wave. Buffy smiled while Dawn returned the wave. After the introductions were over, the hotel lobby became quiet. Everyone stared at each other. Buffy and Angel avoided eye contact, knowing that if they did, they wouldn't be able to break it. Buffy still shuddered at the feeling of his arms around her. To have him hold her again, the way he used to, had made her feel more welcome than ever. She managed a glance at him, and saw his face. His face. The face that haunted her dreams at night and invaded her thoughts at day. She remembered his face in her dreams, how happy it was. Now it held confusion and pain, and she knew that it was her presence that was causing it.  
  
Slowly, Angel raised his gaze, his eyes looking into hers; reading her soul like he always used to. She looked away quickly. Wesley was the one to break the silence. "Buffy, the girl we encountered, Amber, although I believe you are very familiar with her, she mentioned that her two roommates were off fetching you," Wesley said, looking at the Slayer. She hadn't changed much since he had last time seen her. At least her appearance hadn't. He wasn't sure about anything else about her. Buffy nodded, looking relieved to have something else to focus on then Angel. Wesley nodded and continued. "Where are they?" Before Buffy could answer, the younger girl did. "Allie and Kristi went back to the beach house. We tried to get them to come with us, but they wouldn't. So we took them back and they told where your new offices were. Then we came here." Wesley nodded. The uncomfortable silence returned. Paige couldn't stand it. "Okay, this silence thing is getting irritating. Why doesn't anybody talk?" she said. "Paige!" was the answer she received, and it had been delivered by her sisters. She looked at them and ignored their angry faces. Paige didn't like this silence and she was going to make it go away. "Listen, I may not know what happened in your guy's past, but I do know when there are issues to be worked out, and this silence isn't helping any. And, if you guys don't wanna work on the issues, can we at least work on getting rid of the ghost? I mean, those girls are still at that house. We should probably work quick, shouldn't we?" Everyone in the room stared at the young witch.  
  
After a moment, Buffy stared at Angel. He looked at her again, and she shivered from head to toe. "Uh, come on. You two stop staring at each other. Paige is right. We gotta find some way to get rid of the ghost guy," Cordelia yelled, drawing the young lovers back to reality. "Cordy's right. We should. But, I still haven't found out anything about who the ghost might be. I figured that would probably help," Fred said, looking up from her computer. "Oh, we already found out who it is." They all turned to Buffy. "Willow found him on the Internet. Some gangster guy. His name was Robert James Barber. He killed like a lot of people before he died and then some gang got him back. He died, I think Will said, in 1945. There was a picture of him and both Allie and Kristi I.D.-ed him. So you don't have to worry about who he is." They all nodded, but Angel just smiled and looked at her again. Even if Willow had found the guy, he felt as if she had. No matter what, she never ceased to amaze him. "But, the thing we can't figure out is how to get rid of him. Well, exorcism came to mind but we don't exactly know how to perform one," Dawn said, as she sat down on a chair beside the man named Gunn, who smiled at her.  
  
The girl who had been introduced as Prue smiled. "Oh, we know how to do one of those. We've done them a few times," she said. Buffy looked at her oddly. "So, why haven't you done it yet?" she asked. All four of the sisters grew silent. Piper smiled and leaned toward the blond. "Buffy, honey, don't ask that question. We don't know. We wanted to wait to find out who this ghost was. Now that we have, I guess we could perform it," she said. "All we have to do is find one in our spell book and get the items. Of course, they are sorta tricky, but I'm pretty sure we can handle it." Her smile grew when she saw the familiar white lights of a whitelighter appear. Within the blink of an eye, Leo stood next to Dawn's chair, causing the young teen-ager to scream. Leo held out his hands to quiet her. "Hey, hey, calm down! I won't hurt you. I'm one of the good guys," he said, and lowered her hands when Dawn stopped screaming. Leo turned to Buffy and extended his hand. "You would be the Slayer, I presume? Honor meeting you. I'm Leo Wyatt. Whitelighter." Buffy shook his hand uncertainly. "And that would be a?" she asked. He explained and she nodded, while Dawn looked at him with amusement. "So, you can actually appear like that anytime?" she asked. Leo smiled and nodded. Phoebe smirked. "Piper, you might wanna lower your husband's ego before it becomes the size of Prue's." The statement got her a glare from Leo and a smack from her older sister.  
  
Buffy turned to Piper. "You married your guide?" she asked. Piper nodded. "Yup." Angel tried not to smile at the look of confusion on his beloved's face, but failed miserably. He turned to Leo, intent on getting his mind off Buffy. "Leo, did you find out anything?" Leo nodded. "Yeah, a little. I know who he is. Or was. He was a mob boss named-" "Robert James Barber. Yeah, Buffy and Dawn told us that. Anything else?" Leo nodded and continued. "Yeah. Turns out vanquishing him won't be too easy. A normal exorcism won't work. You have to come up with some other way to do it." Cordelia glared at him. "That's it? They didn't tell us how we can get rid of him," she asked. Leo shook his head. Prue leaned in toward her. "They never do. They are very big on making us found out on our own." Cordelia glared again, this time up at the ceiling. "Thanks," she muttered under her breath. That was when Angel noticed the duffel bags Buffy and Dawn were carrying. "Don't you guys have somewhere to stay?" he asked. Buffy looked at him and shook her head. "No, we were gonna look for a hotel, but we wanted to come here first to let you know we were here." Angel took that in and shifted uncomfortably. "Well, uh, why, why don't you two stay, uh, here. No reason for you to pay money for a hotel when you're standing in one that doesn't charge money for staying." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. He didn't even know why he had said them.  
  
No, he knew why. It was because he still loved her. Because he still wanted her. Piper's words echoed through his head once more. He looked up at Buffy, to see she was looking at him. Her eyes held pain of the past, and yet they held want and lust. He also saw something he hated to see in her eyes: fear. She was afraid to stay there, afraid of him. That they would get lost in each other and he would become evil again. His own eyes reassured her that it wouldn't happen. She shifted her shoulders and looked at him. "Well, um, thanks for offering. It would be a big help considering we are practically broke, but I think I'll let, uh, Dawn decide." Both the Slayer and vampire turned to look at Dawn, who was shaking her head up and down so fast Angel was afraid it would pop off. Buffy smiled at Angel shrugged. "Guess we are staying at Angel Investigations." Dawn silently cheered, while Cordelia looked worried, and Piper looked as if she had a plan in mind. Piper had a feeling that Dawn wanted her sister and Angel to reunite. Maybe she could arrange that to come true. With a little help from the teen-ager and from her own sisters, she could make it come true.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Amber sat on the couch in the living room. She was trying to occupy herself with the TV Guide crossword while she waited for her roommates to arrive home. It had been over 3 hours since Allie had called, saying Buffy was taking the job. Amber had been glad. Buffy was gonna help, and at the same time, people from an agency that deals with the weird stuff that they had going on was going to too. As far as Amber could see, they had the upper hand. When the door opened, Amber sat the crossword down and rose to see her roommates enter the house. "Where's Buffy at?" she asked. "Oh, she and Dawn went to see that Angel guy. I think she went to yell at him or something. She knows him," Allie said. Amber nodded. "Yeah, Cordelia told me. She works for him. She said they went back to Sunnydale or whatever. She went to high school with her. Not sure what kind of connection Angel had with her though." "They used to date," Allie said. Amber looked stunned. "What?" Kristi asked. Amber looked at the brunette. "Buffy dated him? Why does she always get the really hot guys?" Amber yelled. Allie smiled. Kristi smiled too. "Because she's Buffy, what else?" she said. Amber smiled this time. Allie walked past her and sat her bag down on the couch and sat down next to it. "She said they'll stop by after they get done there." Amber nodded, then realized what her friend had said. "Did you say that Dawnie is here too?" she asked. When Allie nodded, her eyes grew wide. "And you did explain that there is a murderous ghost here, right?" she asked. Kristi came over to a chair and plopped down into it. "Dawn knows about ghosts and stuff, along with Joyce. What I'm still hazy about, is how they all even know about it," she said, sliding off her leather coat.  
  
Amber shrugged, as did Allie, even though she knew how. "Who knows. People find out in all sorts of different ways. So, Amber, do you have that guy's business card? With an address and stuff? You know, in case we need to find him?" Allie asked. Amber nodded and reached over the coffee table to grab a small white card. She handed it to Allie as she took a seat beside her. Allie looked at the card. Her brow furrowed as she studied it. "What is this, a lobster? Or is it a butterfly?" Amber leaned over to see the card. "Oh, the girl, Cordelia, told me it was an angel. Looks like something else doesn't it?" Allie nodded and sat the card back on the table. "Oh, well. At least we have the address." Kristi leaned over and snatched the card off the table. "Isn't this the address of that old abandoned hotel? Hyperian or something? You know, the hotel that had a lot of deaths all the time?" The other two girls shrugged. Kristi sat the card down. "Am, did the ghost try anything while we were gone?" Amber shook her head. "Naw. Nothing. Which I found a little weird. But, I just sorta ignored it. I didn't sleep though." The two girls nodded. "Well, maybe we should go to the hotel and see these people just in case. You know, before something bad happens," Allie said, picking up the card once again and sticking it in her pocket. Amber and Kristi nodded and stood up.  
  
Amber slipped her shoes and jacket on. She turned and froze in place. "Uh, guys. We have to get out of here NOW." Allie and Kristi looked at her, then turned and saw what she meant. The ghost stood behind them. All three girls huddled close together and walked backwards slowly towards the door. "WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE? I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE! NOW YOU MUST DIE!" the ghost yelled. Just as Allie pulled open the door, it shut again, locking. The girls turned around to stare at the ghost in horror. "Please, just let us go, and we won't come back. We'll leave. We promise," Allie said nervously. "NO! YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE! YOUR TIME IS UP!" The ghost rose his hands and a green bolt flew out of his palm. It zoomed past the girls and struck the wall behind them. The three of them looked at the wall, seeing that now there was a large hole where the bolt had struck. They turned back to the ghost. He rose his hand again and another green bolt emerged. It flew towards them. They screamed and ducked. The bolt hit the door, busting open the lock in the process. Allie grabbed a hold of Kristi and Amber and pulled open the door, dragging them through it in the process. They ran to Allie's parked mini van and jumped in, Allie locking the doors in the process. They stared at the house. The ghost was in the same spot. The girls still watched the house. He didn't move. "I don't think he can leave the house," Kristi said.  
  
Allie looked at her. "We still can't take any chances. The ghost is now trying to kill us. We can't go back in there. Let's go. Maybe they all found out how to get rid of him." She started the car and they drove off, heading toward the Hyperian hotel, in hope of help.  
  
"Is this room okay, Dawn?" Angel asked as he helped Dawn settle into the room he showed her. Dawn looked up and smiled at him. "Yeah, it's fine, Angel. It's big. A lot bigger than my room or any of the other hotels in LA. Thanks." Angel returned her smile. He unpacked the rest of her stuff and put the now empty suitcase in a closet. He turned around and watched as Dawn stuffed the rest of her clothes in a drawer. The brunette turned and looked at the vampire. "What?" she asked. Angel looked startled. He hadn't realized he had been staring at her. "Uh, nothing. I'm just sort of amazed at how much you changed since I last saw you. You've sort of, I don't know, matured, I think." Dawn smiled again at him. "Well, it has been close to three years. I've changed a lot. But, you look the same." Angel shook his head. "But I'm not." Dawn laughed. "Yeah, so I see. You aren't so broody anymore. You seem more active. You know, with more people to keep you company." Angel nodded.  
  
The two of them were silent for a few moments, then Dawn said, "Go see her." Angel looked up at her. "Excuse me?" he asked. "Go see Buffy. I see it in your face, Angel. You want to go talk to Buffy, so go see her. I know the only reason you are helping me settle in is so you don't have to see her. But you want to, Angel. And if you didn't you wouldn't have offered us to stay here. Go talk to her. I'll be okay." Angel just looked at her for a beat. The Dawn that stood before him now wasn't the same. She had grown into a teen-ager. Her hair was longer and she was taller and he noticed now, that she was like her sister. She knew what he was thinking. She could figure him out. It was true. He had offered to help Dawn settle in as a way to keep from making contact with Buffy. And Dawn had known that. Now she was giving him The Look. He smiled. Usually Cordelia gave him that look and it didn't work. It was the look that said do-it-or-else. But when Dawn gave him that look, he did what ever she told him to. He nodded and turned to leave the room. Before he shut the door, Dawn heard him mutter, "Summers women. Gotta love 'em."  
  
A knock at her door caused Buffy to look up from her suitcase. She walked over to it and pulled it open. Her heart leaped into her throat when she saw Angel standing behind it. After all this time apart, just seeing him did the same thing it used to do to her when they were still together. it made her heart stop and make her gasp for breath. She felt weak in the knees and all she saw was him. She didn't see the hallway or the room. Just him. "Angel. Hi. Um, do you wanna come in?" She stepped back to allow him to enter. She shut the door behind him and clamped her hands together behind her back. Angel turned toward her, looking into her eyes. The eyes that had haunted his memory every second of the day. They hadn't changed at all, except that they were a little empty. "Is the room okay? Because you're welcome to another one if you like," he said, trying to refrain himself from sweeping his gaze over her body and inhaling her aroma. Buffy looked up at him and nodded. She suddenly found it hard to breath. "Yeah. It's fine. Thank you for asking." The room grew silent. "So, how have you been?" Angel asked. Buffy looked up at him again. "Oh, good. I guess. Um, you?" He looked at her. "Fine until a few minutes ago." Buffy nodded. She wasn't exactly fine either. Being around Angel, she was never fine. Just confused. Flashbacks from her dreams invaded her mind again. Why did they seem so real? She couldn't explain it. Seeing him again just made that feeling stronger.  
  
"I know what you mean," she said softly. Angel took a step closer to her. Buffy's heart sped up and she suspected he heard the faster rhythm. She took a step closer to him, and now they were close. Just an arms length apart. From this distance, Buffy could smell his scent. That familiar smell of incense and the soap he used. She had missed that smell so much. Sometimes she wished she could smell it just once, to be reminded of a little piece of Angel. She looked up into his brown eyes and saw the same thing she used to. She saw pain and sorrow. But she also saw what she hadn't in a long time. Want. She knew it was mirrored in her own eyes. It always had been, ever since the night of her seventeenth birthday. Want for him. For what they could never have, only dream of. Angel took another step toward her, and now he was looming over her. She looked up into his face. Their lips were a hairsbreadths apart. Angel's mouth moved down closer to hers. Buffy closed her eyes and leaned her head upwards. She could feel Angel's breath on her face. Her heart beat faster, and then.  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
Angel pulled back and Buffy opened her eyes. She looked at Angel, who was panting and looking down at her. She turned around and opened the door to reveal one of the Halliwell sisters. Phoebe, Buffy thought. She smiled at the young witch. "You wanna talk to Angel, right?" Buffy asked. Phoebe smiled and nodded. Buffy stepped back to let her in, glancing at Angel in the process. "Yeah, Phoebe? What is it?" Angel asked. His eyes ticked over to Buffy, who had walked to the bed and was now unpacking the rest of her things. "Wesley wanted me to come and get you. He said he needed help with translating something in Gaelic or some language like that," she said. Angel nodded. "Okay. I'll be right down." Phoebe nodded and turned around, saying good-bye to Buffy on her way out the door. Angel turned toward his beloved Buffy. As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned around, smiling weakly at him. "Forget it. It just happened. Luckily Phoebe stopped it," she said. But she knew she was betraying herself by saying so. She had wanted it to happen. She always did. Angel kept looking at her. She looked down. "Um, you go and help Wesley. I'll be down in a few minutes."  
  
Angel looked at her for a few more seconds before turning and reluctantly leaving the room. After he left, Buffy sat down on the bed and stared at the wall. She closed her eyes, trying to gather herself. Her eyes opened and she finished unpacking her things. She took a deep breath and headed out the door, down to where the love of her life awaited.  
  
Dawn had just opened the door to her room when Piper was about to knock. "Oh!" Piper yelped in surprise when the door flew open. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Piper, isn't it?" Dawn asked. Piper smiled and nodded, lowering her fist to her chest and covering her heart with her hand. "Yeah, I'm Piper. And you're Dawn right?" Dawn nodded. "Okay. At least I got the name right. Dawn, I was kinda hoping I could talk to you in private about something I sorta hope you'll help me with." Dawn looked at the older woman in front of her. She looked like the other three witches downstairs, which made sense, since they were sisters. But Dawn wasn't sure if she had ever seen any sisters who looked so much alike. She and Buffy didn't really resemble each other. At least not in appearance. In spirit, they were like twins. They both had the energetic spirit. Dawn nodded and stepped back to let Piper in. "What do need help with?" Dawn asked. Piper looked at her. "Angel and your sister." Dawn looked confused. "Huh?" she said. Piper smiled at the young girls confusion. "Angel and your sister. From what I hear, they were the love of each other's lives, and still are. I can sorta tell just by looking at them.  
  
"Now I know everything about the curse and what happened to break them up. But I can tell that they are still in love and want to be together. I want to get then together, but I need a little help. Are you interested?" A huge smile appeared on the teen's face. "Yes! Yes, I am so interested. But how do we get them together. I mean, the curse.." Piper waved her hand to cut Dawn off. "No worries about that. You know me and my sisters are witches. Well, I talked to them already, and they offered to help. Well, Phoebe did. Paige and Prue want nothing to do with it, because they have the hots for Angel and want him for themselves. But Phoebes offered to help, and the two of us came up with a something. The two of them are afraid to be together because of the curse right? And because Angel wants Buffy to have a normal life, which he can't give her 'cause of the whole 'grrrr' thing, right?" Dawn nodded, still not understanding where Piper was heading with this. "Well, what if Phoebe and I wrote a spell? One that would turn him human, but with his strength? Would that change anything?" Dawn looked at the young witch. A spell to turn Angel human? But still be able to fight like he does now? That would make Buffy happy. Am Buffy happy equals Angel happy. So maybe if we all did do this, maybe this would work. Maybe Buffy and Angel could work it out then and they could get back together and Dawn could have her surrogate big brother back.  
  
Dawn smiled at Piper and extended her hand. "You got yourself a deal, Miss Halliwell," she said. Piper grabbed her hand and shook it. "Let's do this, Miss Summers. We will bring those two wild crazy kids back together." All Dawn did was smile and nod. This is soo gonna work. I know I will get those two together again. Buffy will never cry herself to sleep again, Dawn thought. Piper released her hand and opened the door. "Come on, Dawn. Let's get to work. We'll go out to…" Piper looked at her watch. "Uh, a late lunch/dinner. I'm sure we deserve a break. We'll work it out then." Piper held open the door and motioning with her arms for Dawn to leave. Dawn smiled and grabbed the coat that was spread over a chair. She held it against her chest, smiled at Piper and bounced out of the room. Piper giggled at the young girls excitement and shut the door. Maybe this won't be so hard after all.  
  
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"It still makes no sense at all," Wesley said as he slammed the thick book shut, causing a cloud of dust to blow into the air. Buffy closed her eyes and coughed, waving her hand in the air to wave the dust away. Angel glanced at her and smiled slightly at the Slayer, who coughed again. No matter what she did, he always found her beautiful. She opened her eyes and looked at him, as if feeling his eyes on her. He looked away quickly, but he knew that she had seen him. She always saw him looking at her. He looked back up. She was still looking at him. He met her eyes. No matter what, he always felt as if he was drowning whenever he looked into them, whenever he even thought about them. He could live forever just looking into the eyes of his love. They were a safe haven; a place he felt safe. Now he was drowning. But he still saw a lot of pain left in them. Pain that he had put there. And as he looked into her eyes now, he realized that he wanted to do anything to make that pain go away. Anything, just as long as he didn't have to see that pain in her eyes. "Well, MAYBE if you actually knew which book to look in, we could get this done quicker!" At the sound of Cordelia's voice, Angel and Buffy jerked their eyes away from each other. They turned their attention to the other people in the room. Wesley glared at Cordelia. "Well, if perhaps a certain woman would actually pick up a book and work a lot harder, I could find the right book!" Wesley yelled in response. Angel rolled his eyes and looked back down at the book in front of him. The Never Ending Arguments of Cordelia Chase and Wesley Wyndam- Pryce continues again, he thought. Cordy and Wes fought all the time. They could find the simplest things to fight about and turn them into another World Wars.  
  
He heard a soft giggle beside him. He looked over and saw Buffy smiling and giggling softly at Cordelia and Wesley's antics. Angel looked at her face. He saw her small smile. How her eyes lit up with every giggle. He felt himself fall in love with her all over again. Footsteps on the hotel stairs drew his attention upward. Piper and Dawn were walking down the steps, Dawn's coat in her arms. "Going somewhere?" Buffy asked, noticing her sister's coat in her arms. Dawn looked at her older sister. "Yeah. Piper offered to take me out for a late lunch/dinner. That's okay, right? I mean, you don't need me for anything? Or Piper? Or Phoebe?" Dawn asked. Buffy shook her head. "No, not that I know of. But Piper and Phoebe, I'm not so sure about. You'll have to ask him." Buffy pointed her thumb at Angel. Dawn looked at the vampire and gave him the famous Summers puppy-dog face. She knew that it proved lethal to him several times with Buffy, and once or twice with herself. But, the point was that it worked, and the way he was looking at her helplessly, she knew it was working now. "Uh, I, uh, I guess we could do without two witches for awhile. Just as long as there's some way we can get in touch with you in case there's an emergency."  
  
Dawn jumped up and down on her feet. The puppy dog face conquers once again. She looked at Piper to see her smiling. "Yes. Prue and Paige have my cell phone number so you can reach me. We'll be in touch. Phoebes, you gonna come?" Phoebe looked up from the Book of Shadows to stare at her older sister. "Why?" she asked. Piper looked at her sister. "You know, so we can get to know Dawn better. And to talk about that THING we were discussing. You know, about the SPELL you thought could HELP out with BUFFY and ANGEL?" she said. Phoebe just stared at her older sister for a few moments until realization hit. "Oh, yeah. Right. The spell. That we were talking about. To help out with the entire situation. Right. Uh, let me get my coat." Phoebe got up and walked out of the room. Angel looked at Piper. "What spell? You guys came up with a spell to get rid of a ghost?" Piper looked at him. Uh-oh, she thought. "Um, well, sorta. We think it will make the entire situation easier. We just sorta need to discuss it. Ya know, just figure out if it will work and stuff." Angel nodded. Piper looked over to Prue and silently begged her older sister to not tell any of the others about their plans. Prue looked back at Piper and smiled, nodding. Piper sighed, relieved.  
  
Phoebe reappeared with her coat on, walking towards Piper and Dawn. "Okay. I'm ready. Let's go." Piper nodded. She grabbed her coat off a nearby chair and slipped it on. "Okay. We'll be in touch." The three of them walked out of the door. Buffy stared after them. "Weird," she said. Fred looked at the blond. "What do you mean?" she asked. Buffy looked up at her. "Oh, uh, nothing. Just, they seemed a little…" "Weird?" Fred finished for her. Buffy smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I don't know. Just, they were a little jumpy. Or, I don't know. Might just be me." Fred nodded and looked back at her laptop. Buffy looked back at her book. Angel shifted beside her and she glanced at him. Their eyes met. Yet again, the entire world around them disappeared and all that was left was them. She felt her heartbeat quicken. She felt a light sweat begin to form on her forehead. They both looked into each others eyes. They read each others souls. As always, Buffy felt all of the walls around her lower the gates and allow his eyes entry. She could feel him look right through her, into her. Her breath caught. She saw something she never thought still existed in his eyes. Happiness. She knew it was because her. Being near her again. It made him happy. She never thought she would ever see something like that again in his eyes. She had barely seen it when they had been together. Just once, on their one night together. their only night.  
  
She looked away when something crashed through the doors. Or, rather, some ones. Buffy rose as she saw Amber, Allie and Kristi come through the doors, running up to the counter where they all sat. "What happened?" Buffy asked, taking in her friends exhausted and frightened appearances. "Ghost. He, he tried to kill us. We barely got out," Allie said, trying to catch her breath. "Are you guys alright?" Fred asked. Allie looked up and nodded. "So you're saying that the ghost has attempted to take your lives?" Wesley asked, coming up to them. They nodded. "So, what do we do? I mean, we can't go back there," Amber said. Angel stood up. "You guys will stay here. There are plenty of spare rooms. You…three…welcome to stay here," he said. "Oh, yeah. This is Allie Sullivan and Kristi Webb. My roommates," Amber said. Angel nodded in their direction. "Thanks for letting us stay. We appreciate it," Kristi said. Angel smiled. "No problem." Buffy looked at Amber. "Hi, Am," she said. Amber looked back at her and smiled. "Hey, Buff. Long time no see." The two friends smiled at one another. Angel watched as Buffy smiled. His emotions were definitely running high. If his heart was beating, it would be racing. She always did that to him. Always. He remembered the last time he heard those words.  
  
It was during the entire Faith fiasco. She had asked him to pretend to be evil to get Faith to talk about the Mayor's Ascension. He had hated it. Hated kissing Faith, pretending to have no soul, watching Buffy suffer. But he had gone along with it. And Buffy had asked for a break from them. He had reluctantly agreed, and right before she had left the door, he asked her if she was still his girl. She had turned around and looked at him, and that was when he had heard that word. Her answer had been, "Always." He felt a tug on his heart when he thought of that. Thought of what they had been through. He snapped out of his reverie and looked at the three new arrivals. "Uh, okay. I'll show you girls to your rooms. Just, uh, follow me." Angel turned around and started for the stairs. He glanced at Buffy as he walked past. She was avoiding his gaze. He didn't blame her. But, right now, he was glad the three girls had arrived. It gave him a chance to get his mind of Buffy. He led them to their rooms, focusing his mind on the innocents he was meant to help, trying to avoid the beautiful blond who, some way, kept sneaking into his mind.  
  
"So, you two can really do it? You guys can make Angel human? But still have him able to fight?" Dawn asked. Piper smiled at the young girl. She seemed more excited about their plan than Piper herself did. "You know, Dawn, maybe you shouldn't drink that Coke. You seem to be very hyper. You know, it's not healthy," Phoebe said. Dawn glared at her. Piper laughed. Seeing those two reminded her of what she and Prue must have been like growing up. Prue, being the older one, giving her annoying advice, and Piper glaring at her. Of course, they were still like that, just not as much. "Yes, Dawn, we can. That is if we can come up with a spell. Which, Phoebe, having written millions of them, we can probably do," Piper said. Phoebe nodded and sipped her coffee. "Yeah. It shouldn't be too hard. Well, actually it will be sort of hard considering the curse that's already on him. Gypsy's were pretty magical and old magic is really hard to counteract. But I think I might be able to. But, will you be able to keep your sister and Angel, like, you know, unaware of our little plan?" Dawn nodded and took a bite of her spaghetti and swallowed. "Sure, it shouldn't be too hard. Angel is usually really easy to distract. All I have to do is get him and Buffy in the same room together and the entire world fades away. It's easy." Phoebe nodded.  
  
"Just don't let them get TOO close. We don't want evil Angel to appear. That would just make matters worse," Piper said. Dawn nodded and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry. I can handle it. Just as long as you guys can come up with the spell." The two witches nodded. Phoebe picked up a napkin and grabbed a pen out of her purse. "What are you doing?" Dawn asked, taking a drink of her pop. Phoebe started to scribble on the napkin. "I am starting to write the spell. I've got a lot of rhyming words echoing in my head and I have to get rid of them," Phoebe answered, not looking up from the napkin. Dawn nodded and looked at Piper strangely. Piper shook her head. "She does this all the time. Don't bother trying to find out. It'll just make your head hurt." Dawn smiled. She liked the Halliwell sisters. They were funny and not to mention witches. Dawn was fascinated with witchcraft. That's why she enjoyed Willow and Tara's company so much. She would love to have power like witches do. Speaking of powers….  
  
"Hey, I was just wondering, I mean, with you guys being witches and all, what are your powers?" Dawn asked. Piper rolled her brown eyes. "Everybody always asks us that. Well, I can freeze time, and now, most recently, can also blow things up," she said. Dawn's eyes grew wide. "Prue is telekinetic and she can astroproject, Paige is also telekinetic, hers just works differently since she's part whitelighter, and Phoebe here gets premonitions and can levitate." Dawn's eyes grew even wider. "Wow! It must be so cool to be able to do all those things. I mean, I would love to have just one of your guys' powers. Being able to move stuff and freeze and blow up stuff and being able to fly. That has to be awesome." Piper smiled at the young girl's enthusiasm. "Only sometimes. A lot of the time we just want our powers to go away so we can have normal lives," Piper said. "Speak for yourself," Phoebe replied, still scribbling on the napkin. Piper glared at her younger sister. "Phoebe never wishes to be normal. She always wants to be a witch." Phoebe smiled and nodded. Dawn giggled. "Well I don't blame her. I would love being a witch. Piper, if you ever wanna switch places let me know." Piper giggled and nodded in reply. She turned her head to look at her younger sister's work in progress. "How's it comin' Phoebes? Think you got one?" Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, I think I might. It's not the best, but I think with a little bit of improvement it will be just the right spell. So, this plan will work. Dawn, all you have to do is keep up your end of the bargain and Piper and I will keep up ours. Then, both of those love sick kids will be together and there will be no reason why they can't be." Dawn smiled. Nothing can ruin this plan now.  
  
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The business firm of Wolfram and Hart was busy with activity. People in suits were rushing from place to place without even stopping to chat. Liliah Morgan walked quickly towards her office. She knew she was being followed, and she didn't bother to look back. She knew who was behind her. She reached her office door and pulled it open, right at the same time a hand slammed it shut. "Liliah, why you running away like that?" Lindsey McDonold asked. Liliah turned around to look at him, disgust in her eyes. She and Lindsey had tied for position of Vice President of Special Projects not long ago. She dispised Lindsey and wanted nothing to do with him. "Maybe I just didn't want to talk to you," she answered, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder. Lindsey smiled. "Why not? We're partners. Partners are supposed to work together and help each other out." Liliah huffed. "Partners. Yeah right. The Senior Partners may have assigned both of us as V.P. of Special Projects, but I still consider this every man for himself. What do you want Lindsey?" she asked. Lindsey's smile grew. "What else? Information. I know you've heard some stuff about Angel. So have I. But we both hear different things. Now, why don't we, just this once, act like we are partners and share with each other what we know?" Liliah glared at him.  
  
She had always competed with Lindsey, ever since she started at the firm. She didn't want to work with him. "Why?" she asked. Lindsey smiled again. "Angel was our project, remember? Key word: our. He was one of the biggest cases this firm had going and we screwed it up. Now the Senior Partners want us to fix it. So we have to. Liliah, you and I both know what has happened to past employs of Wolfram and Hart who have failed. Do you really want any of that stuff happening to you?" Liliah stared at him. Then she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Fine. Just move your damn hand so we can at least talk inside." The man removed his hand and allowed Liliah to open the door. He entered in after her, closing the door. "So, Lindsey, what have you heard?" she asked. "All bad things. Sounds like Angel had improved, which doesn't bode well for us. He's back with his group and they have started that stupid agency up again. At the side I'm looking at, odds don't look so good for us." Liliah nodded. "Yeah, basically the same thing I've heard. But I did recently hear a little different. Something that is happening. Remember the Slayer we hired to take Angel out a while ago?" Liliah asked. Lindsey nodded his head. He remembered alright. Remembered how the Slayer, Faith, had been hired to slay Angel and had failed, turning on them and joining Angel's side.  
  
"Remember the rumor of how he used to date one? Well, I found out the rumors are true. He dated a Slayer. The longest living one ever recorded." She went over to her desk and picked up a file folder, opening it and glancing at the papers inside. "Her name was Buffy Summers, originally from here in L.A., but moved to some small town called Sunnydale, translated into "the mouth of Hell". Turns out she and Angel were quite the couple. From what I hear, he's the reason she's alive in the first place. He fought along side her." Lindsey walked up to her and took the file away from her. "So what, Liliah. What's the point?" he asked. Liliah smiled. "I'm getting to it. You know how he went all bad 3 or 4 years ago? Well I found out how he did that," she said. Lindsey rolled his eyes. "Gee, Liliah, how could he have gone bad? Do you think maybe he could've lost that pesky soul of his?" he mocked. Liliah glared at him. "I meant how he lost it. Turns out it was all that little Slayer's fault. She gave him a 'moment of perfect happiness' and that was what did Angel in." Lindsey looked at her. " 'Perfect happiness'? Could you be a little clearer on that?" he asked. Liliah rolled her eyes. "For God's sakes, Lindsey. He slept with the Slayer and that was what did it. And from the rumors and the obvious Darla incident, it only happens with her."  
  
Lindsey winced at the mention of Darla's name. Darla had been Angel's Sire over 200 years ago, but she had been staked, and by Angel no less. The Senior Partners had decided to bring her back as human to torment Angel, and Lindsey had found himself becoming more and more attracted to her. But the plan had started to succeed. She came to him at night and taunted him in his dreams. When Angel had discovered she was alive, he had basically gone insane, but then came when they had discovered her illness. Angel had tried to save her then, but Lindsey had done something different. They had brought in Drusilla, an insane vampire who Angel had Sired himself, to turn Darla. They had both gone on a killing spree then, ending with the death of several Wolfram and Hart lawyers. Only Lindsey and Liliah had made it out, then had been promoted to Co-Vice Presidents of Special Projects. After that, Darla had been recovered and had slept with Angel, obviously thinking he would lose his soul. He hadn't, and the last time Lindsey had seen her was before he had left his apartment to teach Angel a lesson. She had just disappeared. "Lindsey?" Liliah's voice pulled him back to reality. "What?" "I asked if you were even in this dimension anymore." Lindsey nodded. "Yeah. Any way, Liliah, why did you do research on this Slayer anyway?" he asked. "Because she's here. With him. At the hotel. Helping him on some case or something. And I think it's obvious Angel loves this Buffy. And I have a feeling she won't sleep with him. But I'm wondering, what would happen if something happened to her." Lindsey was confused.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, still not getting where she was going with this. "I mean, what if our firm just happened to get a hold of this Slayer. And only let her go in exchange for one thing. Angel's soul." Lindsey smiled. Maybe they would come through after all.  
  
"Dawn, no," Buffy repeated herself. Dawn, Piper and Phoebe had returned half an hour ago, and since then, Dawn had followed her older sister upstairs and begged her to go somewhere. "Why not? Buffy, come on. We haven't been in L.A. forever. Can't we just like, go to the carnival or something?" With Angel, of course, she thought to herself. She and the two Halliwell sisters had agreed that Dawn had to get both Buffy and Angel out of the hotel so Phoebe couldn't be interrupted by them finding out about their little get-Angel-and-Buffy-back-together plan. And so far, Dawn was having no luck in convincing Buffy. "Dawn, we have a crisis here. You promised both me and Mom that you wouldn't bug me and stay out of the way. Your sorta breaking that promise." Dawn slumped her shoulders. "But Buffy, we haven't done a sister thing in months. And the carnival could be the perfect thing. Plus, you deserve a break. You have been working hard since we got here. And so has Angel, that's why I want him to go too."  
  
Buffy looked at her younger sister. "Dawn, you know Angel isn't much for carnivals or anything like that. Why do you want him to go anyway?" she asked. Uh-oh. "Uh, well, he always has seemed like a big brother to me. And I haven't seen him for a long, long time. Don't you wanna spend time with him too?" she asked. Buffy still just looked at her sister. Dawn had put on the Summers puppy dog face, which didn't usually work on other Summers'. But now Dawn was just getting annoying and Buffy would do anything to make her stop. "Fine. What ever. I'll go. They all already told me I could take a break already so fine. But Angel you'll have to see about." Dawn smiled. No worries. Piper was taking care of that.  
  
"Piper, why?" Angel asked the brunette witch for the fifth time. "Because, it will give you and Buffy a chance to talk out some of those unresolved issues you two have," Piper answered. "Buffy and I do not have any unresolved iss—" Piper held up a hand to quiet him. "Yes you do. You guys have tons of them. I already asked Wesley and he said you could go." Angel looked at her, a confused and yet scared expression on his face. "But, it's a carnival," he said weakly. Piper nodded. "Uh-huh" she said. "Piper, I don't go to carnivals. I've never even been to one in over 60 years." Piper shook her head and tugged on Angel's hand, pulling him out of his seat. "So, just follow what Buffy and Dawn do. You'll blend in. Angel, just please, please, try and talk to her for me. For my sake. Leo and I went through almost the exact thing you and she went through and all we had to do was talk. And then we got over them. Now, I know that there is almost no chance you two will get back together now, but you guys can at least make amends. Angel please do this. For me? For a poor defenseless witch? Please?" Angel looked at her. She had a puppy dog face on. Not the famous Summers puppy dog face, but an affective one all the same. "Alright fine. I'll do it. But, just remember that this is a favor I'm doing. And I expect one from you when I need it." Piper smiled and threw her arms around Angel's neck. "Yay. Thank you. I promise that you won't regret it. And Dawn will be there, just in case you two start beating the crap out of each other." She patted his shoulder. "Have fun." She smiled at him. Angel found himself smiling at the young witches enthusiasm. He had a feeling that she had something up her sleeve. Metaphorically speaking, of course, since she wasn't wearing any sleeves. But as Angel turned around and headed towards the rooms where Buffy and Dawn were staying, he found himself not caring.  
  
"Dawn, is there really a reason to get all dressed up just to go to the carnival? I mean, for God's sakes, it's just you and Angel," Buffy said as she contemplated the outfit her younger sister had picked out for her. The Slayer wore a short midnight blue summer dress with a plunging neck line and a long slit on the side, exposing her slim leg. Her blond hair was up in a twist, with curly strings of her loose hair falling around her face. "So, don't you want to look nice when you go out? I mean, we haven't been to L.A. for a long time. What if you run into an old flame or an old friend from Hemery? Don't you want them to see you looking nice?" Dawn asked, brushing her long brown hair. Dawn herself was dressed nicely too, just not as fancy as her sister. Dawn wore a pink blouse with a matching pink skirt. Her hair was down, flowing down her back. "Dawn, I don't think any of that stuff is likely. Well, okay, it is, but I doubt that they will care at all. Everyone at Hemery sort of disowned me after the entire gym incident. Well, except for Allie, Kristi and Amber. But they don't count. Now Dawnie, I love you and everything, but why did you make me get so fancy? I mean, it's not like it's a date…or is it?"  
  
Buffy looked at her sister in the mirror. When Dawn slowly stopped brushing her hair, Buffy got the picture. "Dawn! Is this a date?" Dawn looked at her older sister. "Well, not exactly. It's just one of those Why- don't-we-try-to-make-peace-and-be-friends sort of things. Of course, a reunion of you two wouldn't be so bad." Buffy sighed and plopped down in a chair. "Dawn, you know that that won't happen. Angel and I are over. We have been for quite awhile. I know you have this big hope in your little romantic heart that we will be back together, and as much as I hate to break it, I have to. Dawn you know Angel and I can't. And believe me, I want it too, more than anything, but I'm sorry. It just wasn't meant to be." Dawn looked at her older sister. "Come on, Buffy. You don't believe that do you?" she asked. Buffy shrugged. "I don't know what to believe anymore, Dawn. Just, let this just be a night of non-issues, okay? Let's just have fun. No get-Buffy-and-Angel-together-again. Just a friends-who- haven't-seen-each-other-for-years-have-fun night." Dawn smiled weakly and nodded. "Okay. No reunion stuff. Just friends having a fun night." Buffy nodded, agreeing.  
  
When there was a knock at the door, Dawn walked over to answer it. "Angel. Hi. We're ready to go if you are," she said when she saw the vampire standing behind the door. Angel smiled and nodded. "Yeah. All ready. Just waiting," he replied. Dawn stepped back to let him in. Angel stepped in and froze in mid-step when he saw Buffy sitting on a chair. In a nice dress. That showed quite a lot of skin. To him. He, who had several fantasies of her skin under his hands. He who had visual dreams of her, her moans, her sighs, her breathy voice as she says his name in a fit of ecstasy. Stop it, Angel, he told himself, Don't think like that. You guys are over. Plain and simple. But, God, she was beautiful. Her eyes, her golden skin, her lips. If I could, I would walk right over to her and—  
  
He snapped out of his thoughts. She was looking at him. He stared at her. "Uh, Buffy, you look, nice. Beautiful." A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "Thank you. You can praise Dawn though. She picked it out." Angel glanced over at the Slayer's sister. She smiled and picked up her coat. "Okay, are we gonna go?" Angel nodded. He held out his arm to Buffy. "Shall we?" he asked. Buffy's smile grew. She took his arm and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "We shall." They walked out of the room, arm in arm. Dawn followed, a large smile on her face, as she closed the door. Step one: Get Buffy and Angel out of the hotel. Accomplished, she thought to herself. Step two: Cast the spell. In progress. Dawn followed her sister and her surrogate vampire brother down the stairs, glancing at Phoebe and Piper on the way out the door. Piper smiled and nodded. Phoebe waved a small piece of paper in the air, mouthing, I have the spell. Dawn smiled back and nodded. Piper gave her a thumbs up, and Dawn returned it. She turned and followed the two star-crossed lovers out into the night, heading toward the carnival, and hopefully, what all three of them wished for.  
  
Back in Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang were busy trying to figure out a way to get rid of the ghost. "Well, if an exorcism won't work, then what will?" Willow asked. Giles had told them that he had received a call from Buffy, saying that, from a source there in L.A., a normal exorcism wouldn't get rid of the ghost. They had to find another way. Which is what Giles and the others had been doing for the past three hours. Giles looked over at the redhead witch who had asked the question. "I'm not sure. There are not very many other ways to get rid of a paranormal phenomenon such as ghosts except for an exorcism. At the moment, I haven't got a bloody clue." Willow looked shocked. Giles always knew how to do something. She never thought she would ever see the day that he didn't know what he was doing. "Well, is- isn't there some w-way to s-summon the g-ghost and see w-what it is it wants? Maybe t-that would help," Tara suggested. Anya looked over at her from her place on the couch next to Jenny. "Yes, what a great idea. Summon the ghost that wants to kill Buffy's friends and let it kill them. Then it will probably kill us," she said. Tara looked down at the her hands. Willow glared at the ex-demon. Anya looked at her.  
  
"What? I'm just saying what I thought. The ghost obviously wants those girls dead, and if I know ghosts, it will kill everyone who stands in its way to do that." Giles nodded towards Anya. "Anya does have a point. The ghost does seem to want Buffy's young friends out of the way. However, Tara, the notion of summoning this ghost does seem like a brilliant idea. Summoning it may somehow tell us how to get rid of it. I believe Buffy mentioned something about there being four skillful witches there. Perhaps they may be able to cast a summoning spell." Willow looked up at the former Watcher. "Witches? Since when does Angel have witches working for him?" she asked. Giles picked up a book from the table and began to flip through it. "Uh, I believe Buffy said that they did not work for him, but were merely aiding him on this case. One of them apparently has some form of visions and they sent the four of them to Los Angeles to help." Willow nodded and looked back at her laptop. They all looked up when someone came through the door. Spike walked in and looked at everyone. "What?" he asked.  
  
Giles looked from the door to the bleached vampire. "Now this time I know I had that locked," he said, looking at Jenny, who just smiled at him. "Well, it didn't seem to be locked. What do you all have so far?" Spike asked. "Nothing," Anya said. Spike nodded at her. "Oh, same with you all, right?" Jenny looked up from her book. "You didn't find anything on how to get rid of it?" she asked. Spike shook his head. "Naw, lady. Nothing but a bunch of crap from demons I owe some kittens to." Xander looked at him. "Now here's what I don't get. Spike why do you gamble kittens? I mean, why not real money?" he asked. Spike ignored him. "So, how's Peaches and his gang doing on all this? Did the big poof find out anything?" Giles shook his head. "No, they are all still searching. I'm sure they will find something and contact us when they do." Spike huffed.  
  
"Right. Angelus actually looking through a book. That's a laugh. He never was the book type. Not even in his bad vamp days," he said. Spike had never like his Sire. Sure, Angelus had taught him everything he knows, but things still were never right when he was around. After all, he knew exactly what he and Drusilla used to do. He still cringes every time he thinks of the noises he used to hear coming from rooms where Angelus and Drusilla were. "We aren't getting a bloody thing done here. I say I go to Peaches and help out there. Seems to me that that's where all the action is." Xander smirked at him. "Yeah, sure Spike. You just wanna go to make sure Buffy doesn't get close to Angel. Spike when are you gonna get that you don't stand a chance with Buffy. She dispises you. There is no way." Spike just glared at him. They all had found out long ago that he had feelings for the Slayer. They don't approve of it, but Spike loves Buffy. Or at least as much as it's possible for a vampire to love. But he knew that Buffy didn't love him. But he didn't give up.  
  
"That's what you think, Nancy Boy. I'm going because I need some fighting action. And there's obviously none going on here in Sunnyhell. I'm going. At least I'll be able to do some good there." Spike got up and walked out the door. He was going to go to L.A. and cause some trouble for old Angelus. Just like old times.  
  
"Okay, so Phoebe, you have the spell, right?" Piper asked. Her younger sister nodded. "Yes. I've told you many times now that I have the spell," Phoebe said. Piper glared at her sister's harsh tone. "Well, excuse me if I want this to actually work. You know, Phoebes, I know what Buffy and Angel are going through. Leo and I went through almost the exact same thing. But the thing is, is that Leo and I are able to be together while they can't. And when two people are in love as much as they are, that isn't fair. They should be allowed to be together. And I don't care what They think. It doesn't matter at all. I am going to get those two together and if I have to, I'll have Leo orb me up there and I will vanquish those lousy, no-good, evil, cruel, heartless, sons of a…Prue! Hi there," Piper said with a smile as her older sister walked into the room where Phoebe and Piper were planning on performing their spell. Prue looked over at her sisters and walked closer. "Hey. What in God's name are you two doing in this room? I mean, it looks like it might cave in if you two aren't careful."  
  
Phoebe quickly stuffed the paper that had the spell written on it inside her sweatshirt before her sister had walked up over to them. "Uh, you know, we wanted some place to have some…alone sister bonding time and this was the first room we came to," Phoebe said, with her innocent smile now plastered to her face. Prue looked skeptical. "Right. The first room you guys came to. So, what did the other two floors of rooms just disappear while you two were climbing the stairs?" she said. Phoebe gulped while Piper just stopped moving. "You two are gonna try and cast that spell Piper was talking about aren't you?" Prue asked. Phoebe looked at her. "Wh-what spell? We weren't casting any kind of spell," Phoebe said. Prue shook her head. "Oh, no. You two will not get out of this one by playing the entire we-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about thing. I know the both of you. Guys, you know that we can't use our powers for personal gain! Have you both forgotten about the entire 'consequences' thing? They are always bad, real bad. And now we have more people to think about then us. What if you really do accomplish this spell? What would we do if one of the others were hurt?" Prue demanded.  
  
Piper looked up at her older sister. Prue's face wasn't angry, no matter what her voice said. Her face was full of worry. Ever since the Elders had sent Prue back to them, she had been more worried than ever when it came to spells and magic. She didn't want any of them ending up like she had. "Prue, I know you are worried about what might happen. But this isn't a spell for us. It's for Buffy and Angel. There is no personal gain," Piper said. The worry in Prue's eyes faded at her sisters calm voice. Piper had that effect on people. She spoke calmly and everyone around her relaxed. "Okay, so it isn't personal gain. But still, don't you think there is a reason those two couldn't find a way to be together?" Piper shook her head. "Prue, come on. Those two are SOULMATES. They deserve to be together. They should be together but as usual, They obviously want to make sure that they see both of them very, very alone and miserable. Now the Charmed Ones are supposed to help people. And that's what Phoebe and I are doing. You already said that you weren't going to help and that's fine. You can have your little fantasies of what it would be like to boink to undead." Piper grinned at her sister's glare. "But, we want to at least see if this can work. Prue, I promise that there will be no consequences. Just, please let us try and make things better for them."  
  
The oldest of the Halliwell sisters looked at the faces of her two sisters. They were both pleading with her to let them do this. Prue sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine. Try the spell. But, if Angel and the blond Slayer don't get together, you two have to promise me that you will play Cupid to make him fall for me," she said, a joking grin on her face. From the moment Prue had seen the way Angel had held the Slayer the moment she walked into the Hotel, Prue knew that no matter what she did, Angel would never date her. He was still madly in love with Buffy. And always would be. Just the way some things work out. Piper and Phoebe smiled and nodded. Prue returned their nod. "Okay then. Oh, wait. Do they know what you two are planning?" she asked. Piper and Phoebe exchanged glances. "No, that's why Dawn took them to the carnival. To make sure they don't find out. Well, you know, until the spell is cast and it's obvious. And nobody down there knows either because we weren't sure how they would take it, but they will know soon. So, Prue just don't tell them, okay?" Phoebe asked. Prue nodded and held up two fingers in a mock girlscout salute. "I swear. Well, uh, you two have fun with what you are doing here. Good luck and I will see you later." With those words, Prue turned on her heels and walked out the door.  
  
Piper turned to her other sister. "Okay, so should we start this?" Phoebe nodded at her. "Yes. Let's get casting." Piper nodded and pulled out a bag from behind her. She reached her hands inside and pulled out three candles, one white, one purple and one black. "Phoebe, one question. Why did we need three different colors of candles?" Piper asked. Phoebe looked up at her sister. "Well, mainly because, I want this spell to work and the different candles represent all the things that I can sense in Buffy and Angel's relationship. The black candle represents the pain in it, you know, not being able to be together, evil Angel. The white represents the good things in the relationship. Trust, loyalty, love. And then the purple one represents everything that I hope this spell will bring them. Happiness, and bliss and, frankly, a future," Phoebe said as she pulled out a book of matches and the spell out of her sweatshirt. Piper nodded and placed the candles into a circle. "Okay. So you the white candle when I say the spell. Then you have to say it, and I'll light the black candle. Then, we say it together and both of us light the purple one. Got it?" Phoebe asked. Piper nodded. "Got it."  
  
Phoebe unfolded the paper and placed it in front of both her and Piper. "Alright, Pipe. We just have to memorize this spell. Then we can say it and it should work." Piper's head jerked upward to glare at her sister. "SHOULD? What do you mean should, Phoebe? It will work right? I mean, Dawn's hopes are riding on this!" Phoebe looked at her older sister. She had a feeling that it might not be only Dawn's hopes riding on this spell. Phoebe knew how Piper hated to see true loves suffer. She knew Piper was having high hopes of getting those two together. And some how, Piper always seemed to get what she wanted. Which is sometimes a bad thing, Phoebe thought. But hopefully it won't be this time. Phoebe nodded. "I know, Piper. I know. And so are mine. And I know yours are too. I don't like seeing soulmates in pain either. But you know that sometimes these spells don't work out right, or they just don't work. But, I spent an extra long time working on this spell, so it most likely will. The only thing I meant was by 'should work' is that it will all be up to Buffy and Angel what to do. I can reverse the spell if they want. Whatever it is this will work." Piper relaxed, apparently alright with her sisters answer. As the two witches got the entire thing organized, they both prayed that this would work, and that it would put Buffy and Angel's pain to an end.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Come on, you slow pokes! My God, and I thought mom was slow at carnivals," Dawn yelled to Buffy and Angel with a smile on her face. Both of the people tagging along behind her graced her with a glare. They had arrived at the night carnival over an hour ago, and all they did was try and keep up with Dawn, who had suddenly found a lot of energy. They had played who knows how many games and, much to Angel's dismay, ridden almost every roller coaster there. And now Dawn was going on about how she wanted to ride one last ride before they turned in. "Dawn, you've ridden practically EVERY ride in this God forsaken carnival! Can't you give it a rest?" Buffy asked. Angel glanced at her and smiled slightly. The Slayer had been asking the same question for quite a long time now, but Dawn just seemed to ignore it. The young brunette put on her puppy dog face and looked at them. "Just one more ride! One more and then we can go." Buffy sighed at the same moment as Angel and they exchanged a quick glance. "Fine," they said in unison. They glanced at each other again. They still thought alike and acted in the same way. No matter how much time had passed, that hadn't changed.  
  
"Yes!" Dawn exclaimed. She turned and hurried over to a large roller coaster. Buffy and Angel both stopped in their tracks when they saw the size of it. "NO WAY!" Buffy yelled at her younger sister. Dawn turned to look at her with a look of confusion on her lovely face. "What's wrong?" she asked. Buffy looked at her. "Dawn Summers there is no way in Hell I am riding that huge roller coaster. I hate ones that are that big." Dawn looked at Angel to see him nodding in agreement. "So, what? Am I on my own for this ride?" she asked. They both nodded. Dawn sighed in mock-annoyance. "Fine. I'll just find someone brave to ride with. And you two call yourselves champions." Buffy looked offended while Angel just smiled. He had missed Dawn's antics. But now that she was here and he was experiencing them first hand again, he wasn't sure why he ever did. "Hey! Dawn I have never said I am a champion. I'm just a hero," Buffy said, and to that Angel's smile grew. Dawn smiled and giggled softly. "Whatever. I still wanna ride this, so you guys just wait here till it stops." She turned and ran over to the ride and disappeared into the crowd. Buffy looked after her sister's fading form. "Now we are taking orders from a 15 year-old. Man does being a hero suck," she muttered.  
  
Angel looked at her and smiled. She still complained about the littlest things and he still loved it. As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned her head and returned his smile. She broke it off a minute later when she turned away and walked over to a bench. She sat down, smoothing an invisible crease in her dress. Angel sat down beside her and stared at the ground. This was the first time in the entire night that it was just the two of them. Why do I have the feeling that Dawn did this on purpose?, he thought. Buffy sighed softly beside him and he saw that she was looking up into the night sky. He stared at her then. She looked relaxed, but still a bit on edge, which he thought was because she was near him. Alone. Sitting side by side. Angel watched as she closed her eyes. He felt a tug on his heart seeing her like that. Almost content. He remembered the last time he had seen her like that. On a day she didn't even remember. The Day That Wasn't. He had been mortal and they had been together for 24 hours. 24 passionate hours. They had made love several times in several different places. The shower, the bed, the floor, the couch, even the kitchen table. He grinned at the thought of how they had broken it and of how Buffy had bursted into a fit of giggles when they had hit the floor. Then he frowned when he remembered that it never happened. Well, actually it did, but not. Only he remembered it. And now, looking at his one true love, he wondered if he had made the wrong choice in asking the Oracles to change him back into a creature of the night.  
  
Buffy opened her eyes and looked at him. She held her breath when the memories of her dream came flooding back to her. Why did they seem so real? She had had dreams of them making love as normal people before, so why was this dream any different? Why did she feel that they really happened? She smiled a little at him and sat up straight. "You know, I think this is the first time we have ever been to a carnival before," she said, breaking the awkward silence between them. Angel looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I think it is. Of course, there was a lot that we never did." Buffy nodded. "Well, now we can say we did this. And it was all because of Dawn," she replied. Angel smiled. "And Piper," he added. Buffy looked at him and smiled. "Well, seems to me that those two did a little more than bond on that coffee trip," she said. Angel, surprising even himself, laughed. It was true. He had thought that Piper and Dawn had both come up with the idea of taking them to the carnival for more than to have fun. Even though he had just met the young witch, he had a feeling that she was one of those hopeless romantics who wanted nothing more than to see two lovers be reunited. And knowing how much Dawn had missed having him around, he wouldn't be surprised if she had jumped at the chance to reunite them.  
  
Their laughter died down, and the dreaded silence once again emerged. He turned toward Buffy, words left unspoken for years dying to come out. He was going to tell her. After all this time, she deserved to know. "I missed you," he said softly. She looked up at him with her hazel eyes and smiled. "I missed you too," she replied, her voice cracking. Angel brightened. Just to know that she had missed him too was enough to make him happy. She looked at him again and the smile melted from her lips. "Everyday I miss you. I try so hard to stop, but I can't. And I don't want to. I don't want to forget everything that we had. Because it's hard enough trying to survive even a minute knowing that when I wake up, if I go to the mansion, you won't be there. And it hurts. So much. And it amazes me that I can even live through a second, knowing that you weren't around. And seeing you again, being around you, it makes me dizzy, sad, happy, so many things rolled into one. And I really just said everything I never wanted to say to your face, didn't I?" she asked. Angel looked at her, into her eyes, and he cursed himself when he saw tears there. He cursed himself for ever coming into her life, for hurting her so much. But what she said was true. He felt it all. Angel cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. "I know the feeling. Seeing you, being near you but not touching you, it drives me insane. But I know, that no matter how hard it is, it has to be that way. And if I could, Buffy, I would take it all back. All the times I hurt you, I want nothing more than to relieve all that pain, make it all vanish instantly. And if I could, I would do it in an instant."  
  
The tears in Buffy's eyes fell down her cheeks. Angel wiped them away before they could fall too far. "Angel, you don't regret…us? Do you? Aside from all the pain and hurt, you don't regret any of the things we did?" she asked. Angel looked at her in confusion, wondering how she could ask that question. He never regretted meeting her and loving her. She was the one good thing in his life, the one thing he could point to in pride. "No, I don't. I don't regret us. I only regret causing you pain. That's all. I have never regretted one thing we did when I had my soul. But if I could change it, make it so you were never hurt by me, I would…" He trailed off when he was suddenly caught in her eye again. She was looking in much the same condition. Slowly, he pulled her face closer to his, moving his mouth down to hers. There lips were so close, he could feel her warm breath on his face. He pulled her closer still. His lips hovered above hers. Her eyes closed and she drew in a breath when his lips slightly touched hers, and then—  
  
Someone screamed.  
  
Angel released Buffy's face reluctantly and turned his head to wear the scream had come from. He located its source and as soon as he leapt from the bench, Buffy followed. Together they ran into the crowd. They spotted the young woman who had screamed and they froze when they saw why. The young woman stood over the unconscious body of a man, shielding him with her body against their attacker. "Hey!" Buffy shouted, drawing the attention of the man. She gasped when he turned around. She had never seen a demon like it before. It was tall. Well over six foot. In it's hands, it held a long sword, with a curved handle. It was dressed in the manner of a Chinese fighter, with the body gear over it's chest and shoulders. It wore a strange metal belt with something that, to Buffy, looked like a loin cloth hanging from the center of it. It's face and stomach was covered in scales, while the rest of it's body looked as if it was mechanical. It had no mouth and yet it spoke. "Ah, the soldiers of the light have finally come. And here I was thinking that you never would," the demon said. Angel growled low in his throat. The creature looked at him. "Ah, you must be Angelus, the One With the Angelic Face," it said. Angel glared at it. "Want to see just how Angelic I am?" he said threateningly.  
  
The demon laughed and the laugh it had made Buffy's skin crawl. "Foolish creature. Don't you know that no one can defeat me, the Great Drazka!" Buffy smirked. "Drazka? What the hell kind of name is Drazka?" she asked. The demon stared at her and snarled. Buffy looked over at Angel. "What? No comeback? Is it me, or do these demons seem to just want to fight and get it over with? Don't they wanna chat?" she asked. Dispite the situation, Angel smiled and chuckled softly. The demon laughed again. "Ah, yes. The Slayer. I have heard many tales about you. You must excuse me if I do not return your comments. Mainly I just kill and run. However, I have a feeling that the two of you will be a bigger challenge. I look forward to our fight," Drazka said. He lifted his sword and pointed it at them both. "Until we meet again." Drazka then turned and, with inhuman speed, ran off. Without even glancing at one another, Buffy and Angel both took off after him, each matching the other's speed.  
  
  
  
Back at the hotel, in the empty room Piper and Phoebe had chosen to do the spell, candles were in a circle and Piper lit a stick of inscence. Phoebe looked at her sister and when Piper nodded, Phoebe looked down at the piece of paper in her hand. She took a deep breath and began to read the words written on the paper. "I speak to the spirits, above and below. Answer our plea, and let it be so. Two lovers with past, bright and dark, their future will now make its mark. Give him half his reward, let their love be shown. With the flame from these candles, let their desires be known." While Phoebe said the words, Piper lit the white candle. She handed the inscence over to her younger sister and looked at the paper. "I speak to the spirits, above and below. Answer or plea, and let it be so. Two lovers with a past, bright and dark, their future will now make its mark. Give him half his reward, let their love be shown. With the flame from these candles, let their desires be known," Piper read as Phoebe lit the black candle. Now Piper picked up another stick of inscence and lit it using Phoebe's. Together they held both sticks to the wick of the purple candle and repeated the words a third time, together.  
  
When they finished saying the words, the room was quiet. Suddenly, the lights in the room went out, leaving only the flame of the candles illuminating the sister's faces. Piper looked up at Phoebe. "Did it work?" she asked.  
  
Back at the carnival, Angel collapsed to his knees, reeling in pain. Buffy stopped when she saw him fall and ran back to help him, the demon they had been chasing forgotten for the time being. "Angel!" Buffy yelled. She went over to him, but he held up a hand to keep her back. Buffy watched as a strange light went through him, and when it disappeared, Angel was down on all fours, panting. Buffy took a step toward him, reaching out her hand slightly. "Angel…" she whispered. Angel looked up at her with a strange smile on his face. "Buffy," he said. Buffy walked over to him and helped him to his feet. "What happened? Why did you fall down?" she asked, concern etched in her voice. But Angel was just staring at her. "What?" she asked. Angel smiled. He reached out a hand and gently lifted Buffy's up to his chest. Buffy gasped when she realized what she felt there.  
  
His heartbeat.  
  
Buffy looked up at him. Angel looked into her eyes. "I'm alive." 


	6. Chapter Five: Confessions

CHAPTER FIVE  
  
Dawn stepped out of the crowd, heading over to the bench where she last saw Buffy and Angel sitting. They weren't there. Dawn looked around, panic slowly starting to arise in her chest. Then her heart slowed when she spotted the two of them. Of course, it sped right back up when she saw what they were doing. They looked as if they were joined at the mouth. Dawn let out shriek and jumped on the balls of her feet. It worked! Piper and Phoebe's spell worked, she thought as she ran over to them. She smiled as she stopped in front of them, thinking they would see her. When they continued kissing, Dawn cleared her throat. They kept kissing. Now the grin slipped from her face and was replaced by a look of annoyance. "Hey! Love birds! Knock it off!" she said. Buffy and Angel drew apart and looked at her. As soon as they separated, she threw her arms around both of them. "I knew this would work. Piper and Phoebe's spell worked!" she yelled happily. "Wait a minute," Angel said as the group hug ended. "What spell?" he asked. Dawn looked between her big sister and the man she had come to know as a brother. "A spell. See, Piper and me came up with an idea to get you two back together so Phoebe wrote a spell to make Angel human but still let him keep his vamp strength and it worked!"  
  
Suddenly it was all clear to Buffy and Angel. Angel turned to the blond at his side. "So that's what happened. A little bit of the Charmed One's charm," he said. Buffy looked up at him. "I think we need to talk to them." Angel nodded in agreement. They looked back at Dawn who was smiling brightly. "It's really cool seeing you two together again. But, is it for real? You know, forever?" Dawn asked. Buffy and Angel looked at each other. "Dawn, why don't we get back to the hotel first, huh? Buffy and I have some things to think over," Angel said. Dawn nodded. "Okay. I'll wait for you guys in the car." She turned around and disappeared into the crowd. Buffy turned to Angel with a sheepish look on her face. "Uh, sorry. About the kiss. It's just, you said you were human and I felt your heart beat." Something in Angel pulled. He recalled her saying that once before.  
  
*I felt your heart beat.*  
  
Angel looked at her. He grinned and pulled her against him. He tilted her head up towards his and crushed his lips to hers. He ran his tongue over her lips, begging entry. Her lips parted and Angel slipped his tongue in, dueling with hers. They pulled apart when they both needed to breath. "I never said anything to stop you," he whispered. Buffy looked up at him and smiled. "You're gasping for breath. I've always wanted to make you as breathless as you made me. Guess now I can," she said proudly. The only time she could ever remember doing that was in those dreams of hers. Okay, so maybe they weren't real, but they do still count. Angel looked down at her and smiled. "Come on, Dawn's waiting. I have a feeling this will be a long day when we see Piper." Buffy nodded in agreement, but was silently saying that when she saw Piper, she was gonna give her a big thanks.  
  
Phoebe rose from her seat on the floor and went over to where the light switch was on the wall. "It doesn't work," she announce to Piper when she tried to turn the lights on again. Piper sighed. "Great. No lights. Just perfect," she grumbled. "Okay, so, Phoebe, do you know if the spell worked or not? Because, the lights went out and I felt that power surge that usually goes through me when a spell works." Phoebe opened the door to the room and was surprised to see the lights in the hallway on. "Well, the lights in this room seem to be only ones that went out. Piper, I don't know if it worked, but I think it did. I felt that surge too. All we can do is wait and see when Buffy, Angel and Dawn get back." She saw the desperate look on her older sister's face, and even though Piper tried to hide it, she was failing miserably. Piper had her sights set on making this reunion possible. And, now as Phoebe thought about it, so did she. She wanted to stop the pain Buffy and Angel were going through, knowing how painful it was. She went through it with Cole and knew how they felt.  
  
"It's okay, Piper. It will work. And if this spell didn't, then we will find another way to make this better." Piper nodded. Phoebe smiled slightly and went out the door, holding it open for Piper to follow. When they reached the lobby of the hotel, they saw Dawn walk in, followed by the lovers themselves. Piper and Phoebe froze on the stairs, looking like deer in headlights. Dawn smiled up at them and nodded her head. "It worked," she exclaimed. Piper and Phoebe smiled. "What worked," Paige asked from behind the counter. Everyone else was just as curious as Paige looked, except for Prue, who was smiling, knowing that, even though she no longer stood a chance with Angel, he was happy. "Turns out those two witches," Buffy said, indicating Piper and Phoebe on the stairs, "and Dawn here plotted a little something. And can I just say to you two, thank you." Piper and Phoebe smiled. Cordelia stood up. "What did you two plot?" she asked. Buffy and Angel looked at the two witches on the stairs. "Uh, well, we sorta wanted to make Angel and Buffy happy, so we cast a spell to make Angel human but still have vampire strength and stuff like that, and it worked," Piper said in a rush. Everyone was silent. Paige's mouth hung open and she looked in shock at her other sisters. Piper and Phoebe knew that she was a little shocked to learn that they had taken her chance at a new potential boyfriend away. But at the moment, she was the least of their worries. Wesley looked up at the brunettes on the stairs with a look of admiration. "The two of you can actually create a spell which can use so much power. Fascinating," he said. Fred looked at Angel. "So, Angel's human? As in, can go outside and not be hurt by the sun?" she asked. The two witches nodded. "Wow." Angel stepped forward. "Piper, Phoebe, I think we need discuss all this. Just to make sure there is no loop hole." They nodded. "Okay! Hold it! Before any of you move anywhere I want to know what exactly what is going on here! What do you mean by 'human but with vamp abilities'?" Cordelia yelled. Buffy looked at her. "Exactly like it sounds. Angel is human, but with the vamp strength, healing, and, hopefully the stamina," Buffy said, looking at Angel with a wicked grin. Angel returned it.  
  
"Oh, yuck! Knock it off! Gross much?" Cordelia yelled, covering her eyes with her hand. Doyle looked at his girlfriend with a smirk. She can handle that sort of stuff with us, but not with Angel? Delia may be strange, but, God, I love her, he thought. Cordelia looked at him between her fingers. Even though he could barely see her eyes, he knew she was glaring at him. "Alrighty then, are you two coming or do you two want to make up for lost time?" Phoebe said with a smirk. Buffy and Angel looked away from each other. Piper could see the gleam in their eyes from her place on the stairs. They wanted to find out about the spell but they also wanted to head to a bedroom and not come out for quite awhile. Piper smiled. "Well, as tempting as that is, we need to know about this. So let's commerce," Buffy said. She and Angel walked towards Piper and Phoebe, gently shoving Dawn towards the counter with the others. "What? I don't get to come?" she asked. "No," was the reply from all four of the people walking into another room. Dawn huffed and sat down on a stool next to Fred, who smiled at her. "Don't worry. Everything will work out. I've heard a little bit about Buffy from Cordy and from what I can tell, he loves her. This is like a chance of a lifetime, and I doubt that Angel will let it get away," Fred said. Dawn smiled at her.  
  
Maybe he won't, Dawn thought, but with all the pain and stuff they've been through you never know.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, first, you two aren't, like, ya know, mad? Are you?" Phoebe asked when they all had entered a room away from the others. Angel looked at her. "Mad? Why would we be mad?" he asked. Phoebe shrugged. "Maybe because we didn't tell you two first or ask your permission," Piper answered, her eyes downcast. Buffy laughed. Angel just smiled. Piper looked up at them. "So you two aren't really angry? You guys won't let us get eaten?" Piper asked. They both shook their heads. Piper relaxed. Good. No angry-ness. That's good, she thought. "But, one thing I'm wondering. Why did you do it?" Angel asked. Piper looked into the ex-vampire's eyes. "We didn't want you guys to suffer any more. Phoebe and I both know what that sort of pain feels like, and we didn't want you to go through it anymore. Plus, Angel in the short time I have known you, you wouldn't have realized that you two are meant to be together forever, so we had to show you somehow," Piper smirked. Angel glared at her. She smiled in response. "So, there's no loophole? No clause?" Buffy asked. Phoebe looked at her. "Well, he's not a vampire anymore, so there's no more curse. But we can't be certain. Mainly, you guys have to put it to the test, if you know what I mean," Phoebe said with a smile.  
  
Buffy returned that smile while Angel looked clueless. Buffy pulled his face toward hers and looked in his eyes. "Honey, she means that we should spend the rest of this night in bed and see if there is no catch," she explained. The gleam that had been in his eyes grew and he drew Buffy to him, kissing her lips. Behind them, Phoebe and Piper exchanged a look and stared at the smootching couple in front of them. Piper cleared her throat. They kept kissing. She cleared her throat again. They still kept kissing. Piper threw up her hands in defeat. Phoebe grinned. "Hey, you bunnies! Listen to us! GET A ROOM!" she yelled. Buffy and Angel reluctantly pulled apart. "Sorry," Buffy said. Piper giggled softly. "It's okay," she said. Angel looked at Buffy and grinned mischievously. "But, they said to get a room so…" he said. Before any of them could blink, Angel swept Buffy up into his arms and, ignoring her shriek of laughter and surprise, ran out the door and through the lobby. Everyone looked at him oddly, but they both ignored them, both of them attached at the lips, and Angel ran upstairs, and slammed the door to his bedroom. Everyone in the lobby looked up after them, then at the two witches who emerged from the hallway. Piper shook her head. "Don't bother them," she said. Everyone nodded and got back to work.  
  
Upstairs, Angel lied Buffy down on the bed and broke the kiss the look at her. She was beautiful. Just like she had always been. Angel stroked her hair and looked into her eyes. "I'll be with you this time. Forever," he said softly. Buffy looked up at him. "Don't make promises you can't keep," she said. Angel bent down and kissed her. "Oh, I can keep this one. You can bet on it." He moved down her neck and she gasped. Oh yeah. This trip to L.A would definitely be the best.  
  
Hours later, they both laid in bed, exhausted and happy. "Oh, man, I don't think I'll be doing any splits any time soon," Buffy moaned with a small smile on her face. Angel glanced down at her and smiled. "Well, there goes some of my plans for the next few days," he said with a smirk. Buffy playfully whacked him across the chest, then grinned up at him. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure I'll be able to do some of the things you have in mind." Angel's smirk grew and he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, still swollen from his kisses. God he loved her. Now more than ever. Even more than the Day That Wasn't. The day. Should I tell her about it? What would she think? What would do? Would she still be with me? Or walk away? These thoughts plagued his mind for minutes, minutes in which Buffy was remembering her dreams and thinking of how much they were like that moment. She glanced up at Angel, seeing his brow furrowed, and looked at him. "Angel? Are you okay?" she asked. Angel snapped back to reality and looked down at her, smiling. "Yeah, baby. I'm fine. Just thinking about how much you mean to me," he said. Buffy smiled in response and leaned up to kiss him. He broke it off and looked into her eyes. "Buffy there's something I have to tell you. And I am absolutely terrified of how you will react."  
  
Buffy looked at him. "Angel, it can't be that bad. No matter what, I won't leave you. Not now." Angel looked at her. She didn't know what she was talking about as far as he was concerned. After he tells her about the Forgotten Day, she probably won't want to look at him again. Angel sat up, leaning back against the headboard. Buffy, losing her pillow, sat up as well, drawing the blue sheet across her chest and leaned up against the headboard next to him. She reached out a hand and stroked his cheek, still shocked at how all this happened. Angel took a deep breath, happy that he actually had to breathe now, and looked at Buffy. "Buffy, first off, you know I love you? That I only do what I think is right for you?" he asked. At her nod he continued. "Buffy, remember the time you came to Los Angeles to yell at me for stalking you? Remember the demon that attacked us? That wasn't the first time killing it. And you were in L.A. longer than five minutes." He could see the questions and confusion in her eyes. It hurt him to know that after this, he may never see her again. But he took one more deep breath and continued. "You were here for over 24 hours. 24 wonderful hours." Buffy looked at him in confusion. "Angel, what are you talking about? I was never hear for more than five minutes," she said. Angel smiled painfully and looked into her eyes. "No, you were. You just don't remember it. That's the way it was supposed to be. You weren't supposed to remember. And you didn't. Don't.  
  
"See, Buffy. The demon did attack us, but the first time, I didn't kill it. I wounded it and it took off. So we decided to go after it. We followed it into the sewers and we split up. The demon attacked me and it's blood mixed with mine and the next thing you know, I have a heartbeat. The demon's blood made me mortal. And I found you out in the sunlight and I kissed you. The plan was to stay apart but, it didn't really work out that way," he said smiling, fading back to the kitchen table they had broken. "We made love all day and night. And all over the place. The bed, the couch, the shower…" he trailed off. "Even the kitchen table." Angel looked up quickly at Buffy, who was staring out into space, looking as if she was concentrating on something. Angel stared at her. She remembered. How could she remember? She wasn't supposed to be able to. Buffy looked up at him, and he could see tears shimmering in her hazel eyes. "We made love on the kitchen table. And we broke the damn thing," she said with an uneasy laugh. "It was perfect. I hadn't been more happy in the world." Angel stared at her, shock on his face. The Oracles had told him she wouldn't remember. And yet she did.  
  
"Buffy, how do you know that?" he asked. Buffy looked him in the eyes. "I've been dreaming about it. All of what you just said, I dreamt it. You were human and you kissed me on the Pier in Santa Monica. Then we made it back to your apartment and we made love who knows how many times. I just thought they were dreams. And now you're telling me that they…they were real? That actually happened?" she asked, the tears now pouring down her cheeks. Angel reached up and wiped them away with his thumbs, caressing her face. He nodded. "They did." Buffy let out a sob. A sob that tore into Angel like a knife. "Then, why…why isn't it like that anymore? Why did I leave? If you were human, I wouldn't have left. Why?" she asked. Angel cupped her cheeks. "Because I love you," he answered. When she looked at him in even more confusion, he clarified his answer. "I asked the Powers That Be to change me back. The Mohra demon said you would die and I couldn't protect you as a human, a man. I needed to be a vampire so I could keep you safe. So that you wouldn't die," he said, finding tears of his own running down his face now as well. This time Buffy wiped his away. Angel looked at her face, surprised that she was still touching him; still there in the bed.  
  
Buffy stroked his hair and looked into his eyes. "You gave it all up for me?" she asked in a small voice. Angel nodded. Buffy smiled and kissed him, tenderly at first, then with more passion. Angel ran his hands through her blond tresses, inhaling the scent of her. They broke apart and Buffy looked into his eyes. "You gave it all up. For me. Just so I would live. You gave up the one thing you wanted in your life. And all for me. God, Angel I love you." He looked at the young beauty before him. She didn't have any hate on her face like he had expected her to. He saw no regret, no anger. Just love. Love for him. He stroked her hair. "Even after you now know the truth?" he asked. Buffy nodded and kissed him. Angel pulled her to him, on top of him. She giggled softly and he smiled against her mouth.  
  
They just might be okay.  
  
"I can't believe that this is happening," Kristi groaned as she plopped down on the large bed in Allie's room that Angel had shown her to. She and Amber also had rooms, but they had all met in Allie's room to discuss the situation. "I mean, one day everything was normal. Now we are hiding in an old hotel from a ghost. A ghost! Hello? Does anyone else find that not right?" Allie turned away from the large window where she was peering outside, watching as the sun rose. "I know. It's weird but, it happened. There's no changing that. I understand that it's hard to believe, Kris, but…it's real," she said. Kristi sighed and laid back on the bed, the pillows cushioning her head. Amber turned away from the painting hanging on the wall. "You know, for a hotel that had a lot of bad stuff happen in it, it's pretty glamorous," she said. "Yeah. Gorgeous," Kristi muttered. Amber glared at the brunette. "I mean it, Kris. This place is amazing. How do you think Angel got the place?" Kristi closed her eyes and shrugged. She didn't believe any of this was actually happening. Sure, some of the murders sounded like things out of movies and books, but that's just what they were. Make believe. Pretend. The things that were in horror movies. MOVIES. Things that aren't real. And now she finds out that ghosts are real.  
  
"I think Buff said that he has 'connections' or something. Who knows. I'm not really all that interested. I just want that thing gone," Allie said as she turned to look out of the window again. All of this was so confusing. She hadn't ever thought she would see Buffy again. At least, not under certain circumstances. But now, Buffy was there helping them. Or at least, she had been a little while ago. Then, while Allie had been getting settled in the room, she had heard Buffy squeal. When she had opened the door to see what happened, she saw Angel carrying Buffy in his arms, locked in a deep kiss. They had disappeared into a room down the hall. Allie smiled at the memory. Even though she couldn't see her face, she had heard Buffy giggling happily. She had known what hell they had to go through. Buffy had filled her in on their break-up, when he had left. And Allie had been surprised to discover tears streaming down her cheeks. She was just happy that they had found their happy ending. After asking the woman named Piper, she had discovered how. Piper and her sisters were witches. And she and one of her sisters named Phoebe, had cast a spell to turn him human. Allie had never thought that that was possible. Of course, she never thought that the existence of ghosts, witches, Slayer, demons and vampires was possible either. But Allie was happy all the same. If Buffy was, then so was she.  
  
"How do you think they'll do it?" Amber asked. Allie turned away from the window once more. "I don't know. Some way though. And, four of the girls down there are witches, so that may help. But, I really have no idea how they would get rid of it. But they will. That I know. Buffy never lets us down. You guys know that." Amber smiled and nodded. She remembered. Buffy hadn't ever let them down. She remembered one time when they had just started junior high and Amber had had the hots for the school hottie but had been too afraid to talk to him. So she had asked Buffy to introduce her to him. She had gone up to the hottie and started a conversation, but for the first 10 minutes, never said a word about Amber. Then, she had turned to her and introduced the two. The boy seemed interested in Amber and the two had started dating. When Amber had confronted Buffy of why she had taken so long to introduce them, Buffy had smiled and answered "It was all part of the Master Plan." She may take awhile but she never let you down. That's what made her such a good friend. That's what made her Buffy.  
  
"Okay, but Allie. You still have not told us how you knew Buffy knew the stuff she does. And how she knows the stuff she does," Kristi said, propping herself up on her elbows. Allie looked at her friends and she bet her life that she looked like a deer in headlights. "Um, well, I already told you that it was friends intuition. I had a feeling Buffy would know all this stuff." Kristi rolled her brown eyes. Amber sighed. "Come on, All. We know that 'friends intuition' couldn't have helped you know that Buff knew about demons and stuff. You would have to have known that some time before this ever started or you wouldn't have even thought of her. So, Allie. How did you know?" Kristi asked. Allie looked between her two friends. Now she was in trouble. "Guys, I would tell you, but, I swore that I never would. So I can't. If you really wanna know then you'll have to ask Buff herself. But, then, there is the problem of how she's sorta, ya know.." Allie said. She was always uncomfortable around the subject of sex. Kristi and Amber both nodded in understanding. "Alright. So you can't tell us. And no one down stairs can tell us. Only Buffy. And she's sorta….indisposed at the moment. But, Allie, once she is…UN-indisposed, you will tell her to tell us what is going on so we don't drive you completely insane," Kristi said, rising from the bed and walking to the door. Allie nodded. "Yes sir," she replied. Kristi stuck her tongue out in reply before shutting the door and walking to her own room.  
  
"You know, All, I'm not really sure telling us would be a good idea. I mean, if Buffy swore you to secrecy, doesn't that mean that we shouldn't know?" Amber asked when Kristi left. Allie shrugged. "Not sure. Buff has to make that choice, I guess." Amber nodded, then smiled. "Who knew that Buffy would be that anxious to get a guy like Angel into her pants," she said. Allie laughed. "Yeah, they did sorta rush down the hall didn't they? Well, you know, from what I can tell you, they had a pretty rough relationship. It's good that she and Angel are working everything out." Amber nodded. "Ten bucks says that they won't come back out till tomorrow evening," Amber said. "Deal. If you ask me, Buffy and Angel deserve to have a little romance. And nobody will stop them," Allie said, looking back out the large window.  
  
Below, a certain blonde haired vampire overheard the entire conversation. "We'll see about that," Spike said. If he couldn't be happy with Buffy, then his grand-sire wouldn't either.  
  
To be continued?  
  
This was the last thing I wrote. What do you guys think? 


	7. Chapter Six: Enemies Are Revealed

Chapter Six  
  
The four Halliwell sisters sat in the garden of the hotel, research books spread around them. It was a beautiful night and Piper had suggested they go outside to research. They hadn't seen Buffy or Angel for close to three hours now. And the youngest Halliwell was not happy. "How could you two do this to me?", Paige asked for the twentieth time. Prue rolled her eyes and smiled. Piper looked on the verge of strangling their baby sister while Phoebe just looked annoyed. "Paige, we already told you. We did it because, if you ask me, it was meant to be. Plus, did you see how happy they were?", Piper said calmly. In her hand she was squeezing one of those stress balls that you let your frustrations out on. Piper always carried one in her purse just in case she needed help controlling her nerves. Right now was one of those times. "But still, you ruined my chance at having a date with him?", Paige replied. "You also ruined Prue's. She's probably mad too, huh, Prue?" Prue looked up at her baby sister and shrugged. "No not really. I mean, as long as they are happy, it's fine," she replied, looking back down at the book on her lap. Paige just gawked at her.  
  
Phoebe stopped flipping the pages of the Book of Shadows and looked up, a smirk on her face. "Oh come on, Paige. Even if Piper and me didn't cast the spell, you still wouldn't have had a chance with Angel. He wasn't interested in you or Prue. The only one of us who would have even stood a chance was Piper," she said. Piper's head shot up. "What? Phoebe, what did you just say?," she asked, narrowing her eyes at her sister. Phoebe grinned and shrugged. "Just what it sounded like. I mean, come on, Piper. You guys were chatting all the time and it seemed like you guys like each other." Piper slammed the book on her lap shut. "Yeah, we do like each other. But not in the way you think. Did you forget that I am MARRIED?", Piper asked, pointing to the ring on her finger. "And, yeah, we did talk a lot because I wanted to see if his and Buffy's relationship was anything like mine and Leo's. I wouldn't have stood a chance with him because he is madly in love with Buffy. You can see it in his eyes. She is his whole world. None of us would have stood a chance."  
  
Phoebe held up her hands. "Easy, Piper. I was just kidding," she said. Prue laughed as Piper's face turned red. "I knew that," Piper said softly, opening up the book again. Phoebe looked back at the book. "Right," Phoebe replied in a disbelieving voice. Paige looked down at the ground. "You guys could have told me," she said. Prue looked up. "Paige, they didn't tell you because they figured you would tell. Which you probably would have. Don't worry, sweetie. There's a guy out there for you," Prue said, then smiled. " I happened to notice Gunn staring at you." Paige smiled at her oldest sister. Piper looked over at Prue and grinned. "And Prue, I happened to notice Wesley staring at you," she said. Prue blushed. She had been looking at the British man herself. There was something about him that she was attracted to. She wasn't sure what, but her attraction to Angel was gone. Well, not *gone* gone, she was a woman after all, but it wasn't as strong. No, now she had her hopes set on Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. "Prue? Prue? Earth to Prue! Come in, Prue," Piper said, waving a hand in front of Prue's face. Phoebe and Paige laughed. "Leave her be, Piper. She's off in La La land.," Paige said.  
  
Piper smiled and got back to her book. A second later, the British man in question am outside. "I beg your pardon? I do not mean to interrupt, but I was wondering if one of you ladies could perhaps help me with a few Latin incantations. I'm afraid I cannot possibly translate all of them, and the only other person here who speaks Latin hasn't come downstairs for several hours. Would any of you perhaps know Latin?", he asked. Prue jumped up and held up a hand. "I do!", she said excitedly, which in return, gave her three eye rolls. Wesley smiled and motioned for her to enter the hotel first. With one last look back at her sisters, the eldest Halliwell went inside, followed by the ex-Watcher, who secretly held a spark for Prue.  
  
  
  
"Bloody hell, why does that poof have to ruin everything?!", Spike yelled, smashing a trash can against the side of a building. He had left the Hyperian to let out his anger and plan some revenge. He looked down at the mess in the alley. He let out a laugh. "He's not gonna win this bloody time," he said. Spike had lost Drusilla to Angelus and now he was losing Buffy to Angel. "Not this time," he repeated. He wouldn't lose again. Especially not to his grand sire. He would find a way to get her. Of course, he couldn't turn her. Not with this chip in his head. If only there was some way to remove it…..  
  
"Vampire," a voice from behind Spike hissed. Spike whirled around and cocked an eye brow at the sight he saw. A strange demon stood in the entrance to the alley. He wore something that looked like a loin cloth and held a large sword in his hand. "Well, Tarzan. Aren't you a strange sight to see," Spike wise cracked, flexing his fists for a fight. He may not be able to hurt human beings, but demons were another story. "Vampire," the demon hissed again. "Yeah, you already said that, mate," Spike said, taking a step closer to the demon. The Tarzan demon raised his sword and pressed it to Spike's chest when the blonde came close to him. "That's close enough, creature of the night. I have not come to challenge you. I have come to offer you an opportunity," the demon said. Spike smiled. "Sorry, but I'm not all that interested in what you have to say." Spike took another step closer before the demon spoke again. "Not even if it meant you could once again hunt and kill?"  
  
That got Spike's attention. "I'm listening," the vampire said. The demon lowered his sword. "My name is Drazka. I have come to you, William the Bloody, to offer a proposition. I can remove the mechanism in your head that prevents you from doing what vampires were made to do. I will remove it if you help me in ridding myself of the obstacles that prevent me from completing my destiny." Spike stared at him. "So, you know who I am. And about the chip. Not a surprise. But me helping you depends on whatever these so called 'obstacles' are. Listen pal, if you need help with not being impotent or anything like that, you came to the wrong vampire." Drazka let out a sound Spike assumed was a laugh. "You joke, vampire. My obstacles are nothing of the matter. They are of supernatural means. Tell me, vampire, have you heard of the Charmed Ones? Or perhaps the Slayer? And of course, I know you have heard of Angelus."  
  
Fire blazed in Spike's eyes at the mention of the vampire. "They the obstacles? Count me in then. But how do I just destroy them? It takes quite a lot more than one vampire," Spike said. "Actually, it's three vampires, love," a feminine voice said behind the demon. Spike's mouth dropped open when he saw two familiar faces appear. "Hello, William. Long time no see," one them said, while the other figure just laughed. Spike smiled. "Hello, Darla and Drusilla."  
  
" 'Open doors of the heart. Let the light spread apart'," Prue read from one of the large books. "Puh. Since when did incantations go so Jewel?," she mumbled to herself. Wesley looked up and smiled. "I have no idea. Though these spells are quite old. Perhaps you should discuss it with some spirits," he said, smiling at the raven haired witch. Prue looked up, startled that he had heard her. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you heard me. I was just mumbling to myself. I do that occasionally. As for the complaining to a spirit, do happen to know which one?," Prue said with a smiled. Wesley returned it. He realized that he was quite smitten with the young witch. That's why he was hoping she had known Latin. That way he could spend some time with her. And possibly ask her out to dinner, he thought. True, Wesley's last relationship with Virginia Bryce ended badly, but she couldn't handle the fact that he could get killed in a non-demonic way. But he felt that Prue would be able to handle that. After all, she hadn't always been around magic. She hadn't known that demons, witches, ghosts, and vampires existed up until four years ago.  
  
He just hoped that she would say yes. Wesley liked Prue Halliwell. Quite a lot actually. He wanted to get to know her better. "Prue?," Wesley ventured, looking up from the book on the table in front of him. "Hmmm?", the witch replied. Wesley cleared his throat and swallowed. "I was wondering, if it doesn't seem too nosy of me, are you, by chance, involved with anyone at the moment?", he asked. Prue looked up at him with surprise written all over her face. After a moment, she smiled. "Well, that certainly wasn't what I expected you to say," she said. Wesley blushed and looked at his hands. "I apologize if it seems rude to ask. I was just wondering"— "No! Not at all. It doesn't seem rude. As a matter of fact, I was wondering the same thing about you," Prue said. Wesley looked up. "You were?", he asked. Prue nodded. "Yeah. And as an answer to your question, not at the moment, no. I'm not seeing anyone. Though it's not like my sisters aren't trying to get me to start seeing anyone again. Much to my annoyance," she said, glaring a little.  
  
Wesley smiled. Well at least she wasn't seeing anyone. And she had the same feelings toward him that he had toward her. "And as a response to your answer, I am not involved with anyone either. Though I did recently get dumped. By a young woman I saved from being a human sacrifice for her father to become all powerful." Prue's eyes widened. "Her father was going to sacrifice her? And I thought my dad was bad." Wesley looked at her. "You have troubles with your father?", he asked, hoping there was something they had in common. Prue nodded. "Yeah. He took off a little while after Phoebe was born and he recently came back, but I'm not really all that into getting reacquainted. I still blame him for forcing mom to take care of us on her own. At least, until she died. A demon. Real bad thing. Piper and Phoebe barely remember her. Paige, on the other hand, never even met her. Except for whenever Piper and Phoebe summoned her so she could see her. But, I got to spend a lot of time with her…up there," she said, pointing to the ceiling.  
  
Wesley nodded. "I am sorry for your death, Prue. But I am glad you were returned. Because if you weren't, I'm sure I wouldn't be falling in love with you even as we speak." Prue's head snapped up. Wesley's face drained of color. He had actually said that he was falling in love with her. What did she think now. "You're, you're falling in love with me?," Prue asked in a small voice. Wesley looked away from her. "Yes. I believe I am. I'm very sorry, Prue. I never meant to say it out loud. I'd understand if you didn't want me to be near you any more," he said, looking back at her. Before he could say anything else, his mouth was closed off by Prue's lips. She had reached forward and crushed her lips to his. Wesley gasped at the sudden connection, but quickly relaxed into it and kissed her back. He had never felt lips as soft as Prue's. Her lips tasted much like a mixture of strawberries and honey. He could tell she had obviously kissed quite a lot. He had never kissed someone quite like Prue. He felt as if he could keep kissing her forever.  
  
Unfortunately for Wesley, Prue pulled back, taking a deep breath. "Woo. I guess I'm the one to apologize now," she said, smiling as she reached up and wiped smeared lipstick off Wesley's face. The ex-Watcher smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. I'm quite pleased you actually could do that. I just couldn't seem to discover the nerve," he said, mimicking her gesture and doing the same to her. Prue smiled. "I'm a high maintenance kind of gal," she said softly. Wesley pushed a piece of black hair off her face and looked into her eyes. "If you wouldn't mind, Miss Halliwell, may I kiss you again?," he asked. Prue smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'd be insulted if you didn't, Mr. Wyndam- Pryce." And with that, the two of them were lost in the feel of each other's lips and soft caresses.  
  
Darla and Drusilla stood beside Drazka, both smiling at Spike. "Hello, William. So nice to see that you are well and undead. Well, undead at least," Darla said, stalking toward him, swaying her hips more than necessary. Drusilla walked behind her, laughing softly. "My Spike. Still fighting what he really wants all because of the lil' chip in his head. It causes him pain it does," she whispered, running her hand through Spike's hair. Darla laughed. "Yes, so I've heard. Along with quite a few other interesting tid bits. And so I wonder, dear William, if any of them are true. Have you truly fallen for the Slayer? Lusting after her like a puppy dog. Much like Angelus?", she asked, and Spike could swear he saw anger on her face. Spike ignored her question when something occurred to him. "Darla, didn't the poof stake you years ago?" Darla glared at him. "Yes, he did. But thanks to modern lawyers, I was brought back."  
  
"Lawyers? I knew they were evil, but I never thought they could accomplish something like this," he said. Darla stopped pacing around him. "Enough with avoiding the questions, William. My patience is hanging by a thread. Have you or have you not become smitten with the Slayer?", she asked. Spike stared at her. He knew not to test Darla's anger level. She could get quite nasty. "Maybe. But I've found out recently that it's just cry for what I really want," he said. Darla stood in front of him now. "And what is it that you want, William?" Spike looked in the woman's eyes. "Something that would kill Angelus. What more than stealing his beloved Buffy?" he asked. Darla's eyes shined as she smiled. "That a boy. At least you're with me and Dru now." Drusilla came up behind Spike and ran her hands over his chest.  
  
"Does my Spike want to punish Daddy? Punish him for destroying our happy home? We can get our daddy back and get rid of the Angel beast for good." Spike just stared straight ahead. He actually wasn't very sure he wanted Angelus back for good. He much preferred the soul-ed version more. At least the "Angel beast" wasn't trying to steal Drusilla away. But, he was getting Buffy. So either way he went, it was a lose or lose situation. "Not to come on as an annoyance or anything," Spike began. "As if THAT was new," Darla added, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Spike ignored her comment. "But haven't you all already tried to get Angelus back more than once? And, gee, what do you know, he still has a soul." Darla once again glared at him. "Yes, William, we have tried, on occasion, to bring Angelus back again. Unfortunately, we didn't have the magic needed back then. However, we have it now. Thanks to Drazka," Darla said, signaling with her head to the demon who still stood behind them, in the same position as before. "And a few other colleagues.  
  
"Now, William, Dru and I are here to offer you the chance to help us. In return, you will get that pesky chip out of your head and you can hunt and kill and do whatever else it is you want to do. However, you may not take the life of that Slayer. That is reserved for me," she said, with a tone of venom in her voice. Behind Spike, Drusilla laughed. "Grandmum puts her wants first. She wants the Slayer in the ground. Poor little thing. She has no idea what's in store. Little bird, tweeting away in her cage, surrounded by safety. But the big bad cat will soon end all that," she babbled. Darla raised an eyebrow. "Right, Dru. Whatever you say. And don't call me 'Grandmum'. Now, William. What is your answer? Are you with us or against us? Because, I guarantee that if you are against us, you won't live to see another moon." Spike stood, smiling at Darla's threats. He knew she most likely would kill him, but he didn't really care. He could fight back. And if he lost, he would have at least gone down fighting. However, if he went along with their plan, both Angel and Buffy would be out of his hair. And maybe, if he played his cards right, Buffy could become his own play toy. Along with Drusilla, of course.  
  
Spike shrugged. "You've got yourself a deal, Darla. You know you can count on me for anything. There's just one little thing you may not know." Darla looked him in the eyes. "And what might that be?", she asked, and that was when Spike knew that none of them knew about Angel's new "condition". Spike laughed and smiled. "The bloody poof is human."  
  
Angel stared down at his sleeping love and smiled. He had not been able to fall asleep after they had made love once again. He settled for watching her sleep. Watching as her peaceful dreams brought a smile to her face; how she sighed with contentment. Angel didn't think he had ever seen anything more beautiful than the being lying next to him on his—no, their—bed. He reached up a hand and smoothed a strand of hair away from her forehead, dragging his thumb over it. Buffy shifted closer to him and sighed again. Angel smiled. If I die right now, I can die happy, he thought. Angel leaned down close to her, near her ear and whispered, "I love you." Buffy leaned her head upward. "Ditto," she whispered back. Angel smiled as her eyes opened and focused on him. "Morning, love," he said, and leaned down to capture her lips in his. After a brief moment, Buffy pulled back. Angel looked at her questionably. Buffy smiled and caressed his cheek with her hand. "Sorry, love. Morning breath. It's a killer," she said, reassuring him.  
  
Angel just smiled and pulled her towards him. He kissed her passionately. Buffy giggled against his mouth and kissed him back eagerly. Angel drew Buffy on top of him and began to kiss her neck.  
  
Then there was a knock on the door.  
  
Angel pulled away from Buffy as she slid off him, a pout on her lips. "Why does everyone want to ruin our fun?", she asked, in a tone much like a five-year-old. Angel smiled and shrugged, throwing Buffy one of his shirts and pulling on his boxers. "I have no clue, beloved. But I'll get rid of them," he said, stealing one more quick kiss before sliding out of bed, motioning for Buffy to put on his shirt. She did as requested, the pout still on her beautiful lips. Angel made a mental note to wipe that pout away as he opened the door to reveal Allie, who looked quite uncomfortable and embarrassed. "Sorry to disturb you two, but the people downstairs sorta need some help," she said, avoiding Angel's eyes. Angel smiled and looked over at Buffy, who was now out of bed and in his shirt. Buffy smiled. "It's okay, Al. You don't have to be embarrassed. We're not mad for being interrupted. Well, not much anyway," Buffy said. Allie looked up, relieved to see that they were both partly decent and looked at her friend. "Just don't kill the messenger," she said.  
  
Angel smiled again. "No worries. We don't plan on it." Allie sighed, relieved. "So, do I tell them you'll be down in a few? Minutes that is," she added when she saw the gleam in both their eyes. Buffy laughed and nodded. "Yeah. Tell them that. We'll be right down." Allie nodded and smiled mischievously. "Okay. And no morning quickies, you two," she said, pointing her finger at both of them, a mock-stern expression on her face. Both of the lovers groaned. "Spoil our fun," Buffy mumbled. Allie laughed and turned around, calling, "See you two downstairs," behind her. Angel shut the door. "Sure we can't have a small quickie?", he asked, leering at Buffy. "Hmm. Maybe we can," she said, walking up to him and rubbing her hands over his chest. Angel leaned down to kiss her, but was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He spun around to see the smirking face of Prue Halliwell. Wait a second, Angel thought. How did she get in here? I didn't hear the door.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt. But we really do need your help downstairs," Prue said, shaking her head and laughing. "Prue? How did you get in here?", Buffy asked. Prue looked at her. "Astral projection. Nifty little power, don't you think?", she said. "Cordelia had a feeling you wouldn't come down after Allie said to, so they all sent me to astral in to make you get your butts in gear." Buffy and Angel exchanged glances. "I swear, they are all really pushing it," Angel muttered. Buffy grinned up at him then turned back to Prue. "Alright. We'll be down. Now astral outta here so we can get completely decent," she said. Prue nodded. "Alright. But if you two aren't down there, I will be back." With those words, Prue's head slumped and she disappeared in a flash of light. "That's just creepy," Buffy said. Angel looked down at her. "We'll finish this later, love," he said. His beloved smiled up at him, with eyes that said, You bet your ass we will. The two separated and went to get dressed.  
  
"Certainly an interesting perspective. What I don't understand is why the ghost would want the three of you gone so badly," Wesley was saying when Buffy and Angel came into the lobby, hand in hand. Piper looked up and smiled. "Hey, strangers. Have a good night?," she asked. Buffy just smiled as Angel sat down, pulling the blonde into his lap. Angel smiled at Dawn, who sat with a book in her lap, smiling at him. "Very good night, thank you, Piper," Angel said, smiling at the witch he had come to know as a friend. Piper smiled once again. Phoebe looked up, offended. "Hey! What about me? I helped cast the spell too! Don't I get a thank you too?", she asked. Angel smiled at her. "Yes, Phoebe. If you want one. Thank you, too," he said, laughing and shaking his head. That seemed to satisfy Phoebe. Cordelia cleared her throat. "Okay, now why you two were up there making wild monkey sex all night long, we down here have been trying to find some stuff out. Care to listen in?," she asked.  
  
Buffy and Angel looked forward, trying to pay attention when to what everyone was saying. "Yes, well, it seems we are still no closer to finding out why exactly this ghost wants Allie, Amber and Kristi out of the house so much. It seems that most of the evidence is pointing toward usual ghost actions. He is haunting the house and most likely thinks of it as his. Therefore, not wanting anyone else there. But, it might be more," Wesley said. "Like what?", Buffy asked. The brunette girl who was known as Fred looked up from her laptop. "Well, I've been looking into the history of this guy. And it turns out that one of the gangsters he was a big enemy to is actually one of Kristi's ancestors," she said. Kristi's head popped up. "Really?" Fred nodded. "Percy Collins. He was your great-great grandfather. Or maybe it's just one great. I'm not sure about that. But according to the file, his gang was the one that took him out. Maybe he blames you for what happened and wants revenge. And he just sees Amber and Allie as things to kill too." Kristi stared at her, stunned.  
  
"Wow. You mean Kristi's family aren't all goody-two-shoes?," Amber asked. Kristi looked over and slapped her on the arm, then looked at Fred again. "So, you're saying I'm the cause of all this?", she asked. Buffy reached out and gripped her hand. "No, Kris. Of course not. Your granddad is. Or how ever many greats there are. Not you. He just sees you as a threat I guess." Kristi looked more relieved. Angel looked over at the four sisters. "Did any of you find a way to vanquish this guy?," he asked. They all shook their heads. "We haven't found anything in the book, but Cole's still out searching and Leo's still up there," Paige said, pointing upward. "So, there is still hope." Angel nodded. At that moment, Cole shimmered in next to Dawn, causing the young girl to jump. "Geez. Could you people not do that? First it was the white lighter, now the demon. Stop it!", she exclaimed. Cole looked down at her. "Sorry," he said. Phoebe stood up and walked over to him, giving him a light kiss on the lips. "Cole. Did you find anything?", she asked. The half-demon shook his head.  
  
"Not a thing. Just that the ghost is bad and wants the three of them out. Nothing new," he said, throwing a glance over to Angel. "Although, Angel, I found out something you might find of interest." Angel looked away from Buffy and up at Cole. "And that would be?" Cole took a seat next to Doyle. "I heard around that your Sire and those two weird children of yours are plotting against you." Buffy looked from Cole to Angel, her expression betraying her confusion. "Your Sire? Darla? But you killed Darla years ago," she said. Angel looked down at her. "Under strange circumstances, she was brought back. I'll explain it to you later, love. Cole, by 'my two weird children' you do mean Spike and Drusilla right?" At Cole's nod, Angel sighed. "Spike? What is he doing in L.A.?," Buffy asked. Dawn looked up. "Well, he does have that weird obsession with you. Maybe he followed you," she said. This time it was Angel's turn to look confused. "What obsession with you?", he asked. "Spike is in love with Buffy. He's going all stalker boy on her," Dawn answered.  
  
Angel still looked confused but settled. "We'll talk about that, too," he said. "Cole, do you know what they're plotting?" Cole nodded. "Oh yeah, I do. And it's not good." He paused. Silence filled the room. "Okay, so spill already!", Gunn yelled. Cole looked directly at Angel. "They all teamed up with Wolfram and Hart. And they plan on using Buffy against you. They plan on using her to make you give up your soul." 


	8. Chapter Seven: The Bait on the Hook

Author's Notes: The song Angel sings as Caritas is "My Universe", by Mark Wills  
  
Buffy stared at Cole, her eyes wide. "Steal his soul?", she whispered. Cole nodded. "That's what I heard," he replied. Buffy looked up at her lovers face with big eyes. "Angel…", she whimpered, fear in her voice. Angel placed a finger on her lips. "Don't worry, love. I'm human now," he said reassuringly. When he saw that Cole was opening his mouth to comment, Angel glared at the demon, stopping whatever he was going to say. Piper raised her arm. "Uh, excuse me? What's going on here? What the hell is a Sire and who are Darla, Spike and Drusilla?", she asked. Before Angel could answer, Leo orbed in on the other side of Dawn. "That's it!", the teenager yelled, slamming her book onto the counter. "The next one of you who do that is sooo gonna get a butt kickin'!" Leo looked down at her. "Sorry, Dawn." The brunette made a hand gesture and picked back up her book. "Leo? What's up?," Prue asked. Leo shook his head. "Bad stuff. Angel, you have a serious problem." Paige looked at Leo. "Yeah, we know. A couple of people are planning on stealing his soul. Cole already told us. But it's not a problem," the youngest witch said.  
  
Leo looked at her. "Not a problem?," he asked. Paige nodded. "Yeah, I mean he is human now." Leo shook his head again. "Doesn't matter. The evil these vampires have teamed up with has the power to reverse the effects of Piper and Phoebe's spell. It's not easy, but they are hell-bent on accomplishing the task." "So you're sayin' that they could really turn Angel back into a vampire?", Fred asked. Leo nodded. "And evil. Which is what they plan to do." Buffy gasped and clutched Angel's hand. The ex- vampire kissed her hair and looked up at the whitelighter. "Do the Powers have any idea how to stop it?" Cole stood up. "Kill the demon. They're in league with a demon who has the power. Kill the demon, threat is gone." "What's the demon's name?," Wesley asked, in full Watcher-mode. "Drazka. That's all the Elders know at the moment," Leo said. Gunn snorted from the corner. "Well, they're a lot of help."  
  
"You guys need to find out everything about this demon. As for the vampires, Their only advice is to hunt them down and kill them," Leo said. "That way, at least part of the threat is over. As for the lawfirm They told me about, you're on your own. I'll go up and see if they know anything more." They all nodded and began to work. "What can we do?," Allie asked from her seat next to Kristi and Amber. Cordelia looked over at them. "Anybody know how to surf the Web REALLY, really fast?," she asked. Allie and Amber both pointed their fingers at Kristi, who weakly raised her hand. "Alright, come on over and give me and Fred a hand. Allie, Amber, you guys can help on book duty." The three girls nodded and went to their responsibilities. Leo leaned down towards Piper. "Be careful," he whispered, kissing her, then orbed out the next second. "I hate when he does that," Piper muttered, then picked up a book lying next to her. as everyone gathered books and booted up computers, Angel pulled Buffy aside. "Don't worry, love. Nothing will happen," he said. Buffy looked up at him, tears threatening to spill. "You don't know that. what if we can't stop them?," she asked. Angel cupped her cheeks. "Buffy, we will. They haven't won yet, they won't start now. I promise, beloved," he said softly, wiping away a stray tear that slid down her cheek. "We'll stay happy and alive. I'll stake them all. Then we'll never leave the bedroom again," he added with a smile. Buffy smiled back and leaned towards him. "Oh? And what would we do cooped up in that bedroom forever?", she asked. Angel's smile grew and he pressed his forehead against hers, moving his lips to her ear. "Things I can teach you that I guarantee are fun." Buffy smirked at him. "Yeah, and probably illegal in all fifty states." Angel laughed and kissed her. Cordelia's voice interrupted them. "Hey, love birds! We have work to do here. Care to join us?" Buffy glared at her. "Not willingly." Cordelia just rolled her eyes and opened a book, smiling at Doyle in the process.  
  
Angel walked into another room and came back carrying his and Buffy's coats. "Come on, love. I know a few places we could check out. I think right about now we could use a little guidance." Obviously the last comment was lost to the Slayer, but the crew of Angel Investigations got it loud and clear. They all found themselves smiling. Buffy was in for the shock of her life.  
  
"Human? How the hell is that possible?," Darla asked. Again. Since Spike had mentioned the fun fact that HER Angelus was HUMAN, she hadn't stopped ranting. She, Spike and Drusilla stood in the office of Lindsey McDonold, who stood along side Liliah Morgan. Darla looked at the two lawyers. "You said there would be no interference. How did Angel become human?" Lindsey cleared his throat. "Calm down, Darla. It was the work of witches. The Charmed Ones, to be exact," he said. Spike looked away from Drusilla, his smile gone from his face. "The Charmed Ones? Aren't they a myth?" Liliah shook her head. "Just believed a myth. They appear to be Angel's pals and bestowed a 'gift' upon him," she said. "Gift? How is being a bloody human a gift?," Spike asked. Drusilla stared off into a place only she could see. "Because the Slayer is human and he wants to be with her. Grandmum, this won't ruin our chances to bring Daddy home, will it?," she asked, whimpering. Liliah spoke up. "Of course not. We can still bring your…daddy home."  
  
Drusilla stared at her, stalking towards the female lawyer. She stopped in front of Liliah, staring into her eyes. Liliah stared back at her, slight panic in her eyes. Suddenly Drusilla broke into a smile and started to laugh. Liliah sighed in relief. She knew how insane and gruesome Drusilla was and she really didn't want to be one of her victims. Drusilla walked back to Spike, laughing, and threw herself into his arms. Darla rolled her eyes. "Lindsey, Liliah. You're sure that your plot will still work?," she asked. Lindsey nodded. "Of course. Don't worry. As for you, Spike, we can remove that implant from your head anytime." Spike looked up. "Yeah? How's right now?" Liliah smiled. "Right now would be good." She leaned over and pressed a button on the intercom. "Monique? Tell Rayson to prepare the table. He's got an appointment." She turned back to the trio of vampires. "See? Working out great."  
  
Darla looked at her. "Yes. Now, something is bothering me. Eating away at my mind. You mentioned that Drazka can bring Angelus back. However, I don't understand the part of him agreeing with it. He has to willingly give up his soul, and now his humanity. But, knowing him, he won't do it. How do you plan on accomplishing this?", Darla asked. Lindsey shrugged. "Simple really. There is one thing he'll do anything for; anything to save. The Slayer. So we plan to use her against him," Lindsey said, leaning back against his desk. Spike laughed. "Bloody good luck trying. I've been trying to get her for the past four years and yet the bitch is still standing. Not sure how you let plan on doing it." Liliah shrugged and flipped her brown hair over her shoulder. "Easy. Slayer has a sister. We use her."  
  
Spike looked at her. "Dawn? Just one thing to say about that. you hurt the little bit and you won't see the sunrise," he said menacingly. Darla and Drusilla looked at him. Darla broke into a smile and laughter, and Drusilla joined her. "Come now, William. You can't possible show compassion to a human, can you?", the blonde asked, her blue eyes piercing his. Spike shrugged. "I just like the girl. She's no threat. Just don't mess with Dawn." Darla made a gesture which Spike interpreted as an agreement. Drusilla ran a hand down Spike's cheek. "Oh, my poor Spike. Not to worry. We won't hurt the little girl," she cooed. Spike smiled and caught Drusilla's finger in his mouth, causing her to giggle. Darla rolled her eyes. This is certainly something I DIDN'T miss, she thought. Then she smiled when she heard the voice on the intercom. "Miss Morgan? Dr. Rayson is ready."  
  
"Angel, where the hell are we?," Buffy asked in fear when they stepped into Caritas. Caritas, which, in Latin meant "mercy, was a karaoke bar which served both humans and demons. The Host, Lorne, was an anagogic demon who read souls to tell them their path. But he could only do that when they sang. Angel looked down into Buffy's face. "Don't worry, love. It's just a bar," he said, searching the crown for Lorne. He spotted the green demon at the foot of the stage, looking at the Kresler demon who sang "Don't Break my Heart." Badly. His beloved's hushed whisper pulled his attention back to her. "A KARAOKE bar! With demons. Are you sure it's safe to be in here?" Angel nodded. "Demon violence is impossible in here. No worries." Before she could reply, a green demon with horns in armani suit walked up to them, drink in hand.  
  
"Angelcakes. Long time no see. How's human life treatin' ya? Oh, don't be shocked. Word travels fast around here. And who is this lovely young lady?," Lorne asked, looking Buffy over. "This is Buffy. The love of my life," Angel said, smiling down at Buffy. "Love, this Lorne. He's a friend of mine." Lorne smiled. "So you're the Slayer who's got Angel so tied up. Glad to see you two worked it out." Buffy nodded. "Okay, uh, thanks," she said uncertainly. Lorne smiled and looked at Angel. "She's cute, Angelcakes. Now I see why you were so broken up. I would be to. So, what can I do for you lovebirds? Come to sing a merry duet?" Angel heard Buffy whimper beside him. He looked down at her and smiled. Buffy was afraid to sing. "Oh, don't worry, Miss Sunshine. It isn't as bad as it seems. The big softy here has sang here plenty of times," Lorne said. Angel winced. That was one thing he didn't want Buffy to know about. The Slayer looked up at him. "You sang karaoke? Angel nodded. "I had to. Lorne reads your soul when you sing and we needed a little guidance." Buffy nodded. "Uh- huh. And what did you happen to sing?" Angel looked away from her. "Mandy," he muttered. Buffy broke into a smile. "Well, lover, that's something I didn't expect you to sing," she said, knowing that she could torture him forever with this little bit of knowledge.  
  
Angel looked back at her. Buffy was smiling up at him and Angel found himself smiling back. God, I love this woman. Lorne whistled beside them. "Wow, you certainly can feel the love in this room," the green demon commented. Angel looked away from Buffy. "Lorne, we need some help," he said. Lorne took a sip of his drink. "Well, haven't heard anything as of late. Don't know anything." Buffy sighed. Angel looked down at her, an idea brewing in his head. She would hate him if he made her sing. And I don't want that. So I'll sing. "Lorne, is there is a place open on the stage?," Angel asked. Lorne smiled. "Course there is. Isn't there always? You can go on after Henry up there," he said, turning around and walking back to the stage. Buffy looked up at Angel. "You're gonna sing? Do I need earplugs?," she asked, a smirk on her face. Angel mock-glared at her, then leaned down and brought his lips to her ear. "I'll make you pay for that comment later on," he whispered huskily. Buffy giggled. "I look forward to it." Angel gave her a quick kiss before walking to the stage where Henry just finished singing.  
  
Buffy found an empty table and sat down. A minute later, Lorne sat down next to her. "Well, this should be interesting. Usually when Angel sings, I only see depressing and blue. But know that you've slayed your way back into his life, well, I hope to see something more…bright," he said, setting a drink in front of her. Buffy took it gratefully and looked at him. "So, you're a good demon?," she asked. Lorne nodded. "As good as they come. Not exactly real keen on the entire fighting thing. Give me a good 'ole tune over war any day." Buffy smiled. "It's good to know that there are good demons out there." Lorne smiled. "Well, there aren't many of us but there are quite a few." Buffy nodded. "So, how does Angel sing?" Lorne looked at her. "Well, listen for yourself," he said. they both turned to the stage, where Angel stood with a microphone to his mouth. He shot Buffy a smile and a wink before he began to sing.  
  
// Bet you didn't know you were sacred to me. Like a cathedral rising high into the blue, Bet you didn't know all the courage I have came from you. It was you.  
  
Bet you didn't know you were my tower of strength through the hurricane.  
  
Like a child I found peace in your arms time and again. time and again.  
  
You were my life through the storm. You were the shelter that kept me warm.  
  
You were my heart, my soul, my kingdom come, the breath I breathe  
  
The sky, the sun, the moon and stars all wrapped into one. In other words, you're my universe. //  
  
Buffy smiled. She knew that he picked the song for her. He thinks I'm his universe, she thought. Angel smiled at her from onstage. Buffy mouthed "I love you."  
  
//Bet you didn't know you inspired my dreams. You helped me believe in myself. Yes you did.  
  
Bet you didn't know you were the only one who stood by me when there was no one else.  
  
When there was no one else.  
  
You were my life through the storm. You were the shelter that kept me warm.  
  
You were my heart, my soul, my kingdom come, the breath I breathe,  
  
the sky, the sun, the moon and stars all wrapped into one. In other words, you're my universe.  
  
You were my life through the storm. You were the shelter that kept me warm.  
  
You were my heart, my soul, my kingdom come, the breath I breathe,  
  
the sky, the sun, the moon and stars all wrapped into one. In other words, you're my universe.//  
  
A round of applause echoed through the bar. Angel lowered the microphone and smiled at her. He mouthed "I love you, too." Angel placed the microphone back on the stand and walked off the stage. He sat down next to Buffy and smiled at her. Buffy kept a straight face as she said, "Awful. Absolutely awful." When he stared at her, she broke into a smile and kissed him. "Angelcakes, glad to see that there aren't any bad stuff in your aura. Tell those young witches good job. And tell them to be prepared, as all of you should," Lorne said. Buffy looked at him. "Why? is it gonna get bad?," she asked, her voice trembling. Lorne patted her hand. "Oh, don't worry, Miss Sunshine. Things'll work out. Look Angel, you know that I can't tell you a lot but here's what I can. The Key is the thing that they are gonna use to get to you. Keep it away from them. The demon has to be killed if you don't want to say bye-bye to your new found happiness. Stake the vamps and get them out of the way. But keep the Key safe. If they realize how powerful it still is, then the world is in for a heck of a lot of trouble. Good luck to the both of you." With those words, Lorne stood up and walked away, leaving a stunned Buffy behind.  
  
Angel grew concerned. "Buffy? Love, what is it?," he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Buffy turned to him. "Dawn. Angel, the Key is Dawn." Angel looked at her, confused. Buffy sighed. "Never mind. Long story. I'll explain it to you on the way back to the hotel. We have to get to Dawn." The couple stood up ran out of the club.  
  
"I must say, Prue, I am impressed. Not many people can translate Latin so quickly and accurately," Wesley said. Prue smiled up at him, her raven hair covering part of her face. "Well, it helps if you studied Latin in high school and college. Plus, I worked in a museum and an auction house, so I came across a lot of things in Latin," she replied. The two had gone into Wesley's office to finish translating incantations and now to read up on the demon. And also to steal a couple smoochies. A small smile spread across Wesley's face. "Museum and auction house? Fascinating. Although, you don't strike me as that type of person." Prue shrugged. "Well, they weren't my favorite occupations, but we needed the money so we could keep the manor. But now that Piper owns a night club, P3, and it's booming, I can finally do what I always wanted to do." Wesley smiled wider. "And what would that be?," he asked. Prue laughed. "Well, not you if that's what you're thinking. Although, I wouldn't say no if you were," she said with a leer, causing Wesley to blush. "I mean, photography. It was a dream of mine to become a famous photographer and now after a little glimpse of a past life, have decided to follow that dream." Wesley nodded. "That's good."  
  
Prue smiled again and Wesley returned it. "Prue, about that last comment, you didn't actually"— "Oh, I meant it." Wesley closed his mouth. Prue's smile grew. "What, you think I would say something like that and not mean it? We Halliwells aren't like that." Wesley grinned like a fool and leaned into kiss her. Prue complied willingly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then the door to the office opened and Piper walked in. "Prue, Wesley, I think we found the dem—whoa!", she screamed and brought a hand up to cover her eyes. Prue and Wesley jumped away from each other, both whirling around to smile at Piper. "Piper! Hi honey!," Prue said nervously. Gee would it kill her to KNOCK?, Prue thought. Piper peaked through her fingers and uncovered her eyes. "Uh, sorry, guys. I shoulda knocked. Didn't mean to interrupt, but we found the demon."  
  
Wesley smiled nervously. "Great! Well, I suppose we should go out into the lobby. Where everyone who is very judgmental is." Piper smiled. "Don't worry, Wes. Secrets safe with me." Wesley sighed, relieved. The two followed Piper out into the lobby. "What was all the screamin' 'bout in there?," Doyle asked. Prue and Wesley stared at him, not sure what to say. Piper, being the good lil' mediator she was, covered for them. "I saw a picture of a demon that I wasn't prepared for. Just shocked me a little," she said. They all seemed to but it. Prue and Wesley both mouthed, "thank you", to which Piper just nodded. Wesley cleared his throat. "Uh, Piper mentioned that you all discovered out demon?" Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. Drazka is in the Book of Shadows," the blond which said, scrolling her finger down the writing on the page. " 'Drazka. An upper level demon who has the ability to reverse the effects of basically anything. First discovered in early 14th century England, Drazka reversed all good done in a small village, causing chaos. Brother against brother; mother against children; all good was gone and the village was massacred, everyone killed by each other," Phoebe read. "Man, this guy sounds bad," Kristi said. Prue looked up at her. "Well, yeah, I mean all demons are bad, present company excluded," she said, indicating Cole and Doyle. "Uh-oh," Phoebe said. She looked up. "This is bad. Leo was right. It says that one slice from Drazka's sword will reverse anything. Including the spell Piper and me cast on Angel. But when it's reversed, whatever thing with a soul it may have an effect on, it well automatically lose it's soul, becoming a demon, usually a vampire since those are the most common demons. Well, at least, that's what the book says." "Uh-oh," Dawn said. Phoebe looked down at the page then smiled. "Ha! Bright side or loop hole, whatever you wanna call it. it says here that Drazka's slice will only work on something with a soul if it gives over willingly." Dawn smiled. "Well, that's good. Angel wouldn't ever give over his humanity or his soul. Not for anything," she said.  
  
Just then, a voice behind them made them all turn around. "Oh, I wouldn't say that," Darla said. She stood at the top of the stairs in game face, flanked by Spike and Drusilla, also in game face, and over a dozen other vampires. "Darla?," Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Doyle and Cole said in unison. "Darla," the blonde vampire confirmed. Her eyes stopped on Cole and she smiled, licking her fangs. "Balthazar? What a surprise. No one mentioned you were here," Darla said. Cole shrugged. "Not much for publicity." Darla laughed. "No, you never were." She scanned the crowd, stopping at the Halliwell sisters. "Ah, the Charmed Ones, I presume? Interesting. Not a myth. Although, four of you is a surprise. Supposed to be three. Oh, and, might I say, not a very smart move turning Angelus human." "Oh, I think it was a very smart move," Piper said. Darla looked at her. "Oh, do you?" Piper nodded. "Mmm-hmm. Because this way his face won't look as hideous as yours. Really, you're supposed to look like a vampire? More like a diseased dog." Cole shook his head at her, noticing that Darla's eyes held fire. "Uh, Piper, it might not be a very good thing to do, insulting Darla," he cautioned.  
  
Darla suddenly smiled and glanced at him before looking back at Piper. "Oh no, Balthazar. Let they young witch have her…remarks. After all, it'll just make her death more gruesome." Dawn huffed. "That's supposed to be a threat?", she asked. Darla glared at her. "You must be the Slayer's sister. Dawn, is it, William? Oh, yes, William. You'll notice that he's with us now. Pesky little chip is gone, he's on our side again." The look of betrayal and hurt in Dawn's eyes just made Darla smile more. "Now, Dawn. Dawn. Not really one of my favorite words what with it meaning the rising of the sun and all. Oh, well, doesn't matter." Darla snapped her fingers. Two of the vampires behind Spike and Drusilla stepped up. "Take the girl." Dawn immediately jumped off her stool. Doyle and Gunn jumped in front of her. "Over our dead bodies," Doyle said, morphing into his other side. "All of ours," Piper said, crossing her arms. Everyone else in the lobby took a stand also, coming out from behind the counter with weapons in hand. Darla laughed. "That can be arranged." She signaled with her head and the two vamps threw Gunn and Doyle across the room. "Doyle!," Cordelia screamed, running to him. The two vamps walked towards Dawn. "No!," she screamed. "Spike, help me!" Spike shook his head. "Sorry, pet. I'm the Big Bad again." The two vamps neared Dawn, but before they could grab her, they were thrown away by an invisible force. Everyone turned to see Prue waving her hand at them. "You won't get near Dawn as long as I'm here." Darla growled at her. "Fine," she said. Darla looked back at her small army. "Fend them off. Don't kill them unless you have to, but make sure to get the girl." With that, the vampires charged.  
  
Wesley looked at Allie, Kristi and Amber. "Run! Go find Angel and Buffy! NOW!" The three girls raced out the opposite side of the hotel, out the doors and down the street. A vampire charged at Piper. He threw a punch but she ducked it, pushing her leg out causing him to trip. As he rose to his feet, Piper threw out her hands. The vampire stopped where he stood, then exploded in a cloud of ash. Piper's eyes grew wide. "Oh my God, that was so cool!", Paige yelled then shrieked when as a vampire came at her. Paige threw up her arms to block her face. Right before the vampire could grab her, Paige disappeared in a swirl of bright white light. The vampire stopped and turned around, searching for her. "They're witches, you morons! They do have powers!," Darla roared. She, Spike and Drusilla still stood on the steps. Paige orbed back in behind the vampire. The witch looked around helplessly. "PAIGE!", Gunn yelled. She looked over at him and caught the stake he threw at her, looking down at the piece of wood in confusion. What do I do with this?, she thought. "Stake him! Shove it in his chest!," Gunn yelled, punching another vampire. Paige plunged it into the vampire's chest when it turned around. Unfortunately, it was the wrong side. The vampire just roared in pain and fell to the ground, clutching the bleeding spot on it's chest. "Aren't they supposed to explode?," Paige asked to no one in particular. "The heart, Paige! Through the heart!," Gunn shouted. Paige quickly stabbed the fallen vamp in the heart with the stake, and then jumped when he exploded into ash.  
  
"Cool," Paige muttered. She ran over to Fred and Cordelia, who were struggling against two vampires. "Lamp!," Paige shouted. The lamp on the counter orbed over to her and she threw it against one of the vampire's backs, stunning him. Fred took the opportunity to plunge the stake into the vampire's chest before she and Paige went to go help Cordelia. Wesley and Doyle were back to back, each one of them facing a foe. "We get into this position far too many times for my liking," Wes commented. Doyle grunted in response and said, "Let's get our hands dirty." The two men then went into battle. A female vampire lunged for Phoebe. "Whoa!," Phoebe yelled as she levitated over the vampire's head. She whirled in the air and kicked the vampire, sending her to the ground. When Phoebe's feet landed on the ground, she realized that she didn't have a stake and that the vampire was beginning to get up. "Help! In need of a stake!" Suddenly the vampire was hit with an energy ball, and she burst into flames and ash. Phoebe looked over to see Cole with his hand extended. "Who needs a stake when you can do that?," Phoebe heard Gunn mutter.  
  
Prue stood in front of Dawn, telekinetically flinging vampires away from the two of them. "Dawn, can you get out of here?", Prue asked her. Dawn looked up from her place on the floor, behind the stool she was crouching behind. "I don't know." Prue made three vampires fly away from them and into the one that held Gunn by the throat. "Alright, when I tell you to, run as fast as you can out of the hotel." Dawn nodded and stood up. "Okay ready? One, two…", Prue rose both of her hands as three vampires came toward them. She positioned one hand in front of them and the other on the side of the room where everyone else fought vampires. "Three!" Prue pushed the air and all the vampires, except for the three on the stairs, were thrown to the ground and into the walls. "Dawn, go!" The teenager took off and ran for the doors where Allie, Amber and Kristi ran out of. Before she could reach the door, a hand grabbed her arm. "Now, now, dearie. No fair running out into the open," Drusilla said in a sing song voice. Dawn screamed and began to struggle as Drusilla began to drag her away.  
  
Piper looked up at Dawn's scream. "No!," she screamed and began to dash after them. "Stop her!," Darla yelled. "William? A little assistance here?" She turned to see Spike fighting with Prue, gaining the upper hand. "Oh God. I have to do everything myself." Darla ran towards Piper, shoving Phoebe into the counter when the blonde witch tried to get in her way. Phoebe's head hit the edge and she blacked out. "Phoebe!," Cole yelled. He raced over to her, incinerating another vampire that tried to get to her. Piper rose her hands and froze Drusilla and Dawn. At least THEY freeze, she thought. "Hello, witch," Darla said and back-handed Piper when she turned around. "Now, you'll see where a smart mouth gets you with me." Darla punched Piper in the stomach over and over again, following each blow with an equal one to her face. "PIPER!," Paige and Prue yelled. Paige ran over towards her sister while Prue fought Spike off. "Paige, watch out!," Cordelia yelled. Paige turned just in time to be knocked out by a vampire holding a chair. The vampire flung the chair at Cordelia, knocking the brunette to the ground. "Ow," she muttered as she sat up. The vampire loomed over her.  
  
Cordelia grimaced. "God, breathmint?" The vampire back-handed her, effectively rendering her unconscious. "Hey!," Fred yelled behind him. The vampire turned his head just in time to see the blade of the double edged sword coming toward his neck before he was decapitated. "Way to go, Fred!," Gunn yelled. Fred smiled and ran over to Cordelia, checking for a pulse. When she found one she ran over to Doyle, who was protecting an unconscious Wesley, checking on Paige on the way. "Doyle? Need a hand?," she asked as she tossed him the sword. Doyle yelled, "Thanks," and decapitated the vampire in front of him. "Thanks, Fred. Fred?," he asked. Doyle looked over to see another vampire hitting Fred over the head with a large beam. That's why he never say the female vamp hit him with the chair, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the ground, followed a moment later by Cole and Gunn, gashes on their foreheads. Now only Piper and Prue were left standing. Well, actually, Piper was kneeling. Darla had her by her long dark hair, Piper down on her knees. "Alright, witch. Unfreeze them or die," Darla snarled. Piper looked up at her, her face beaten and bloody, clutching her stomach. "You kill me and they'll stay like that," Piper said, fearfully hoping the vampiress would buy her bluff. "Really?," Darla asked, lifting Piper onto her feet. Blue eyes stared into brown ones. Darla turned Piper's head and licked a blood trail off her cheek. "Mmm. Witches blood. Something new. However, I'm growing impatient and I want Angelus back. I'll taste more of your blood soon," Darla said. The blonde vampire drove her knee into Piper's face. The brunette fell to the ground with a grunt, her time freeze worn off as Drusilla and Dawn jerked to life. "Oh, a little liar and a smart ass. Interesting." Piper looked up at the vampire helplessly, unable to move because of the pain. Piper ticked her gaze to the fight between Prue and the vampire Dawn had called Spike. She watched as Prue punched and kicked the bleached blonde vampire, but was no match for him. One blow to the head and her sister fell. Piper groaned and shut her eyes at Dawn's yelp of pain. Drusilla had knocked her out and now held the young girl in her arms.  
  
"Hey! Easy luv. You promised you wouldn't hurt the little bit," Spike yelled. Piper opened her eyes. Spike showed anger on his distorted face. "But Spike, the lil' girl wouldn't stop wiggling and screaming. She was making my head hurt. It was just a little hurt. She'll be fine," the brunette said. Darla looked at them. "Dru, William, take the others back to the firm." The vampires filed out with Dawn. Piper stared up at Darla with hatred on her face. "You won't win. We'll stop you," she said, her voice hoarse. Darla smiled down at her, kneeling. "We count on it. Just give the Slayer and Angelus and message. The girl is being held at the firm. Tell them both to come at sundown and we'll let her go. Oh, and also, tell Angelus that I still want that good-bye kiss." Then Darla punched Piper hard in the face, and the vampire's laughter surrounded Piper as the world went black.  
  
  
  
So, what did you think? For all you Piper fans out there, sorry about the entire "Piper ass kicking" thing. Don't worry, Piper gets revenge. Also, someone, a good guy, has to be killed off. What do you guys think? Paige? Doyle? Who? Please R&R and tell me what you think. 


End file.
